Homerun
by Dark Ambition
Summary: All Olette wants is to join the boys' baseball team, but the boys won't let her. So she challenges them to an all or nothing game. She'll show them girls can do whatever boys can do. Now if only she wasn't so attracted to the boys' pitcher. ::Roxette::
1. Chapter 1

"Oh Olette. Stop pouting," the mother sighed to the brunette fifteen-year-old girl. She sat at the table and watched her daughter storm around the room. "It's just a new school."

"Yeah," Olette said. "A new house, a new school, a new part of town. A brand spanking new life."

"The usual drama all teenagers expel," Olette's mother chuckled. She placed a hand on Olette's shoulder. "We just moved across Twilight Town. And you'll do fine at the new high school. You're a tough girl like that."

"I know, I know," Olette groaned. She looked around the room for her backpack.

"And," the mother continued, "you could join this school's baseball team."

Olette smiled. "Hopefully." She flung the backpack on. "Bye Mom!" Olette called as she headed for the door.

"You're father will pick you up after school!" her mom quickly called after her.

Olette walked down the sidewalk. She had left her old school behind, which was all the way on the other side of Twilight Town. And even though that didn't sound bad it was like the end of the world for poor little Olette. She had to leave her best friend and her team. At her old school she was on the baseball team. They had a co ed team. Her and her best friend were the only two girls on the team, but they were one of the best. And then they had to move. Olette sighed at the sad memory of her friend's expression when she learned Olette was leaving. But everything wasn't that bad. Olette's new school was one called Sunny Side high school. The school was known in Twilight Town for their excellent athletes. Olette heard that they had a good baseball team.

Olette had loved baseball ever since she was little kid. It was all thanks to her dad. He had always been a fan. And since he didn't have a son he decided to make his daughter fall in love with the sport. He was successful with it too. She had played baseball for years and was a pro. She knew everything and anything about that sport. She even knew more than her dad did. She had grown up as somewhat of a tomboy.

As Olette made her way to her new school she passed by a lot. In the lot some kids were playing a game of baseball. Olette backtracked and looked through the fence. It was a group of boys shouting and playing. At the pitcher's mound was a blonde boy with a baseball in his hand. Olette watched him throw the ball at the batter. Both the pitcher and batter were good. The batter had hit a homerun, and the pitcher threw an excellent fastball.

"I hope they go to Sunny Side," Olette whispered. She was hoping to join a good baseball team. She realized she still had to go to school and hurried down the sidewalk.

- x – x – x – x -

Olette had been in school for half of the day and still no one talked to her. She wasn't surprised, but she also felt slightly offended. She was also kind of glad. At least she wasn't on anyone's bad side. She walked into the cafeteria, which was bustling with different conversations. It was jam packed with kids. She felt a little intimidated. Since she didn't know anyone she figured she would go find the coach for the baseball team. She headed towards the building the coach's office was in. She knocked on the door. A woman opened it up.

"Can I help you?" the coach asked politely. It was a woman with long light brown hair pulled back into a braid with pink ribbon. She had gentle green eyes, like Olette.

The woman's humble beauty threw Olette off for a moment. "Are you the baseball coach?"

The woman lightly chuckled. "No. I'm the softball coach." Olette cocked her head. "Why are you looking for the baseball coach?"

"To join the team," Olette told her with a proud smile.

The woman stared at Olette then laughed. "Good luck with that child." She closed the door. Olette stood where she was slightly confused at the reaction. Why did they have a softball team if they had a baseball team? All this was strange to Olette. She walked down the hall even more until she came to another office. She knocked on the door. A man opened the door.

"What do you want?" the man asked annoyingly. The man had brown hair, intimidating eyes, and a scar on his face.

"Are you by any chance the baseball coach?" Olette asked.

The man nodded. "Yeah. The name's Leon. Why do you ask?"

"Is it too late to join?" Olette questioned with hope in her voice.

"Why? Do you know a guy who wants to join?" Leon asked.

"I want to join!" Olette chirped with a huge smile. There was a moment of silence. Leon stared at Olette, almost like she was crazy.

"You're joking right?" Leon laughed. Olette stayed silent. Leon stopped laughing. "You're being serious. You actually want to join the baseball team?"

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" Olette defended.

"Actually, there is."

"What?"

"You can't join the team," Leon broke the news to her.

"Why not?" Olette whined. "Is it too late to join?"

Leon shook his head.

"Then why can't I join?"

"Because you're a girl," Leon told.

Olette didn't expect that answer. In fact, she was a little shocked to hear that. "Because what?" she screamed.

"This is why we have a softball team," Leon sassed. "Girls have to join the softball team if they want to play. Only boys can join the baseball team."

"But…but my old school let girls play on the baseball team!" Olette tried.

Leon sighed. "It was probably because you went to a small school."

Olette opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself. Her old school was small. But was that why they allowed girls on the baseball team?

"Also," Leon continued, "boys play rougher than girls. You'd get hurt easily."

"That's not true!" Olette snapped. "Girls play just as rough as boys! I've played on a baseball team with boys for a long time, and I'm perfectly fine! In fact, I'm one of the best baseball players you could ever meet!"

Leon smirked. "Is that so?"

Olette nodded.

"All right then," Leon said. "I'll let you join."

"Really?" Olette gasped.

"But," Leon cut her off, "you have to get the boys on the team to agree."

"That's it?" Olette asked. Leon nodded. "Okay. No problem. I'll be on this team in no time!"

- x – x – x – x -

"You're joking right?" the spiky-haired brunette laughed. Olette found the baseball team after school. They were playing on the lot she passed by earlier. She knew they were the baseball team because they all had Sunny Side high school baseball caps on.

"No, I'm being serious!" Olette snapped at the brunette.

"Please," the brunette boy sighed. "We don't need a girl on the team."

"Sora's right," called a kid with silver hair. He walked up to Sora's side. He was much taller than Sora. "We don't need you on the team. Actually, I don't even think girls are allowed on the team."

"Leon said it was fine as long as you guys were okay with it," Olette huffed. Behind Sora Olette saw the same blonde boy she saw that morning at the pitcher's mound. He was watching the scene with two other boys from the pitcher's mound.

"This has to be some sort of joke," another taller blonde snickered at Olette. "Why would we be fine with letting a girl on the team?"

"I agree with Seifer," the silver-haired boy said.

Sora nodded. "I agree with Riku…who agrees with Seifer. There's no way we would let a girl on the team."

Olette pouted. "Is that the only reason you won't let me on the team?" she asked. "Just because I'm a girl?"

"Pretty much," Sora, Seifer, and Riku said in unison. Olette huffed. Another boy walked over to them. It was the dirty blonde who was hanging around the blonde pitcher.

"What's going on?" the dirty blonde asked.

"Get this Hayner," Seifer laughed. "This girl wants to join the baseball team at school."

Hayner looked at Olette then smiled. "I think the softball coach will let you join the softball team," he said, being serious. He was trying to be nice to Olette. He was also trying not to laugh. They all thought Olette was joking.

"But I don't want to join the softball team!" Olette shouted. "I want to join the baseball team!"

"But…" Hayner's voice trailed off. Another blonde slightly spiky-haired boy walked over to the commotion.

"You wouldn't survive on the baseball team," the new comer snickered.

Hayner nodded in agreement. "What Tidus said."

"And you think I can't survive on the team because I'm a girl?" Olette snapped. "I'll have you know I've been playing on a baseball team **with boys** ever since I was little. I'll bet anything I'm better than all of you combined!"

The boys laughed. "Yeah right! That's a good one!" Riku chortled.

Olette screamed. "I don't believe this! You bunch of morons! Let me join this team! I really can play!"

"Then prove it," Sora said with a smirk.

She blinked several times. "Fine! I will prove it!" Olette posed and pointed at Sora dramatically. "I, Olette, challenge the **whole** baseball team to a game!"

There was silence in the lot. All the boys that were arguing with Olette laughed. All of them except Sora that is. Olette's face turned red from frustration. She was being serious, and once again they were all laughing at her.

"You guys, shut up!" Sora suddenly snapped. The boys instantly fell silent. Sora took a step towards Olette, now wearing an amused smile.

"A challenge huh?" Sora chuckled. "All right. We accept."

"We do?" Hayner questioned.

"He's being serious," Seifer complained.

"So you guys accept?" Olette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sora, ask Pence and your cousin first," Tidus commanded.

Sora sighed, and turned to the pitcher's mound from where Hayner came from. At the pitcher's mound was a short brunette boy with the blonde pitcher. "Yo! Roxas! Pence! Feel like playing a game against a bunch of girls?" Sora called.

"What are you talking about?" the blonde, who Olette guessed was Sora's cousin, called back.

Sora turned back to Olette with a cocky smile. "Yeah, we all accept. You can even form your own little team. But your team can only have girls. Also, you have to play by our rules."

"What do you mean by that?" Olette scoffed.

"You and your team have to play by the rules of baseball, **not softball**," Sora began. "After all, we are playing the game of baseball. So that means we'll use wooden bats and not metal bats like in softball. We'll also be using a baseball. And we're throwing overhand, not underhand. We'll also have nine innings instead of seven. If you beat us in the game we'll let you join the team. If you lose you're gonna have to run home crying and join softball instead." Sora smirked. "So what do you say?"

Olette smirked then nodded. "Fine by me. I'll show you boys what we girls are really made of!"

- x – x – x – x -

"Sporty girls?" Olette's teacher echoed the next day. It was after school, and Olette was still desperately searching for her team to play with against the boys. She was having no luck though, and decided to get some help.

Olette nodded. "That's right. I need some sporty girls. Specifically ones who can play baseball."

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't know any girls who play the actual game of baseball. But the closest thing to that I can suggest is the softball team. Try the girls on the softball team," the teacher suggested as he shuffled some papers.

"The softball team?" Olette whined.

"Oh yes," the teacher chirped as he looked at Olette with a smile. "Our school's softball team is excellent. It's a very good team. I promise you, you won't be disappointed."

"Are they really good enough to, oh I don't know, beat the school's baseball team?" Olette asked innocently.

The teacher looked at her with a slightly puzzled facial expression. "I don't know about that. Our baseball team is one of the best. Well, at least…" his voice trailed off.

"At least what?" Olette asked excitedly. _Ooh! They have a weakness!_

"They're good at practice," the teacher said as he lowered his voice. "But at the games, they choke. It's like they break down under pressure."

"Could it also be that it's because they're playing in front of a crowd?" the brunette questioned.

"Maybe that too," the teacher agreed. "But don't let that fool you! When the baseball team is determined, they are an excellent team and very hard to beat," the teacher proudly boasted.

Olette smiled. "Well, thank you for the suggestion."

"Also Olette!" the teacher called just as Olette was leaving the room. "If you want to talk to the softball team you can find them on the field. I know they're still practicing today."

"Thank you," Olette called as she left. She walked down the hall and wondered about this. Maybe the girls from the softball team would make the best team. Those girls would already know the rules of baseball. Sort of. And even the teacher said they were really good. Olette nodded her head. "Fine. I'll ask the girls from softball." Olette ran out of the back of the school. She ran past the place where the buses picked up all the kids, she dashed across the soccer field and even ran through the sprinklers. She swerved around a fence and saw a field that looked like a baseball field, except smaller. Olette ran up to the fence that was surrounding the small field. She saw several different girls talking and playing around. Some were stretching on the ground while talking; others were throwing a ball to each other and hitting it with a bat.

"No way!" Olette gasped. "I found my team!" She ran around the fence and ran up to three girls who were talking to each other.

"Why do we have to practice on a Friday?" a girl with short black hair complained as she threw a softball to her friend.

"Because Yuffie," a skinny girl with light brown hair that curled near the ends sighed, "we have to stay sharp."

"We don't need this much practice though Selphie," Yuffie complained. "We're the best softball team around. Isn't that right Kairi?" The two girls looked at their friend, who had shoulder length red hair. She didn't reply to Yuffie's question. She didn't hear a single thing her friends had said because she was listening to her Ipod, which had the volume all the way up.

"Kairi!" Yuffie yelled as she waved her hand in front of Kairi's face.

"What? What!" Kairi snapped as she pulled the headphone out of her ear.

"This is where you agree with me," Yuffie huffed.

"Agree with you on what?"

"Never mind! Just go back to your stupid Ipod," sighed Yuffie in aggravation. Kairi obeyed and stuck the headphone back in her ear. Ever since Kairi got her Ipod she went everywhere with it. She listened to it nonstop too. She even practiced softball in it. But it seemed to make her a better player somehow. In fact Kairi was one of the best players on the softball team. She was the best batter on the team. And all her teammates believed it was because of her Ipod.

"Who's that?" Selphie asked as she gestured towards Olette. She came running up to the three girls. She stopped for breath.

"So…so you guys play softball huh?" Olette asked.

The two girls looked at each other while Kairi continued listening to her Ipod, not knowing what was going on. "Yeah," only the two of them answered in unison.

"Why do you ask?" Yuffie questioned.

"It's just, I saw everyone practicing. You're all really good!" Olette exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Selphie squealed. "We're a pretty good softball team."

"Good eh?" Olette repeated. "Is the team really any good?"

"Any good?" Yuffie chuckled. "We're the best softball team around. And I'm not just saying that because of pride."

"Would you say the teams you face are a challenge?" Olette asked.

"What's happening?" Kairi questioned as she pulled the headphone out of her ear.

"Kairi, turn your Ipod off for one second and listen!" Selphie snapped. "I think this girl is interested in joining the team."

"Oh no, I'm not," Olette laughed.

"Then why are you asking us questions?" Yuffie asked, crossing her arms.

"Just bare with me," Olette said. "So are the teams you face a challenge?"

"No not really. We're pretty good now. We beat most of the other teams easily," Kairi answered.

"So how would you like a challenge?" Olette inquired with excitement dripping from her voice.

"Seriously kid," Yuffie said, getting irritated. "Where are you going with this?"

"Are you challenging the whole softball team to a game?" Selphie asked. She giggled. "I don't mean to be rude, but won't a game be too hard if it was all of us versus just you?"

Olette couldn't help but stare at Selphie with a look that clearly said she thought Selphie was being moronic. She felt like slapping some intelligence into that girl.

"That's not what I'm trying to say," Olette told her as calmly as she could. "Would you guys like to face a challenging team or not?"

The three softball girls looked at each other.

"Hey guys! Would you like playing a game against a challenging team for once?" Yuffie called out to all the softball members that were scattered about on the field.

"Yes!" all the girls shouted. Olette was surprised that the members actually answered the question seriously.

_They actually take me seriously!_

Yuffie turned back to Olette with a smile. "I guess we wouldn't mind. Why do you ask?"

"Well it's a long story," Olette sighed.

"And that's my cue," Kairi said. She stuck the headphone back in her ear. She turned her music all the way up. Olette could hear the song 'Scars' by Papa Roach coming from Kairi's headphones.

"Ignore Kairi," Selphie sighed in a happy way. "I wouldn't mind hearing your story."

"I guess I can hear it too," Yuffie agreed. Olette smiled. They headed over to the benches. Kairi stood where she was, still rocking out to Papa Roach. Yuffie stormed over to Kairi, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, and dragged her over to the bench that Olette and Selphie were sitting on.

- x – x – x – x -

"You actually challenged the baseball team?" Selphie laughed after hearing Olette's story.

Olette stared at her annoyingly. "Yes I did. Do you find that funny?" she asked Selphie in a dangerous tone. Selphie quickly shook her head.

"But why did you challenge them?" Yuffie asked. "Why don't you just join the softball team? It's pretty much the same thing."

"That's not the point!" Olette yelled. "Those boys won't let me join JUST BECAUSE I'M A GIRL!"

"I can't hear Evanescence over your screaming," Kairi informed Olette as she pulled her headphone out. She looked at Olette with an irritated look.

"Sorry. Go back to listening to 'Call Me When You're Sober' while we actually talk about something important!" Olette snapped. Kairi rolled her eyes, but obeyed Olette and went back to her Evanescence song.

Yuffie laughed. "Ah, the classic Battle of the Sexes. Girls can do anything boys can do. Male versus Female."

"Why do you guys find this funny?" Olette whined childishly.

Selphie and Yuffie looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

"Tell you what Olette," Selphie giggled. "We'll help you out with this."

"You mean you'll be part of my team?" Olette asked with gleaming eyes.

Selphie nodded. Olette squealed then hugged Selphie.

"Plus," Yuffie added, "it'll be fun to face the boys. It'll be even sweeter when we beat them." She winked at Olette. Olette laughed.

"Kairi! We're playing against the boys!" Selphie shouted at Kairi as Black Eyed Peas blasted in her ears.

Kairi must have actually heard her too, because when Selphie shouted this Kairi looked shocked. "What?" she gasped as she yanked the headphone out of her ear.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x –

_**A/N – Here's another story for you Roxette lovers. But this time, I'm only going to be putting a little love between Olette and Roxas, not as much as my last story. I'm trying to focus on the main plot: Girls vs. Boys. I kind of wanted to do a story with gender battles anyway. And what better one than one about a sports team filled with boys not allowing a girl on it? But I hope you did enjoy this. I kind of gave Kairi a strange taste in music. I mean, Papa Roach AND Black Eyed Peas? Actually, I listen to both of those people too. And I know everyone does it, but I thought it would be better to make Roxas and Sora cousins. I mean, it makes sense right? Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring.**_

_**Please review! I must be motivated to update faster. So review, review, review! Pretty please?**_


	2. Chapter 2

Olette sat at the table in the cafeteria. She was waiting for the others. The boys were getting impatient and demanded that she hurry up and get her team or else the game was off. Selphie told her not to worry and that she was going to put Olette's team together.

_She better have picked good people,_ Olette hoped. She sighed and stared out the window. On the other side of the cafeteria she saw all the boys on the baseball team sitting at the same table. They were laughing with each other.

_They're probably making fun of me,_ Olette thought. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Olette turned around. She saw Selphie, Kairi, and Yuffie along with some other girls.

"Hey Selphie. What's the news?" Olette asked.

"I found your team!" Selphie exclaimed with a bragging smile. "These are all the girls from the softball team who are willing to play on your team against the boys. That's including myself, Kairi, and Yuffie,"

Olette looked at the group of girls standing behind Selphie. There were only two other girls. One was a tall girl with long straight brown hair that went down to the middle of her back. She had piercing red eyes. She wore all black but despite her tough look she looked like she was a nice person. The other girl also had red eyes. She had short silver hair and looked like she was extremely bored. She was slightly intimidating.

"These are the only people you could find?" Olette asked in a snippy tone.

"Well," Selphie started. "No one else on the team wanted to participate. Tifa and Fuu were the only ones willing to play with us."

"I'm Tifa," the tall girl that wore all black introduced. "And that's Fuu." She pointed to the silver haired girl.

The girl with silver hair nodded. "Hey," was all she said.

"Yeah, Fuu doesn't talk much," Yuffie sighed. "But she's an excellent outfielder."

Olette counted the girls around her, counting herself. "This only gives us six girls. That's not enough for a team," Olette complained. She let her head fall to the table. "Great…" she groaned.

"We could still win," Tifa spoke up. "We are, after all, from the softball team. In case you didn't know, you have the best players standing right in front of you."

Olette looked up at Selphie, Kairi, Yuffie, Fuu, and Tifa. All the girls posed like they had been practicing this for a while. Olette couldn't help but smile.

"Well, I have heard you guys were the best," Olette admitted. "Still…Do you really think we could make it with just six players?"

The girls standing around Olette nodded in agreement. They really did think they had what it took to win. Olette smiled. As long as they thought they could, maybe they really could win.

"Well then. I guess this will have to do," Olette finally agreed. Her team sat down at the table with her.

"You have nothing to fear Olette," Kairi said while listening to her iPod. "You've got the best on your side."

"Excuse me," squeaked a voice from behind Olette. She turned around to see who it was. She saw a girl with long blonde hair that had been attempted to be pulled up into a ponytail. She had bright green eyes and wore a cute girlish outfit.

"Yes?" Olette questioned.

"I couldn't help but overhear you guys talking about making your own softball team," the girl chirped.

"Actually I'm trying to make a baseball team," Olette corrected politely.

The girl's facial expression changed to excitement. "Really? What for?" she asked.

"Olette wants to face the boys," Selphie butted in.

"Really? Do you have any room for more people?" the blonde girl asked excitedly.

"Um–" Selphie said.

"We do. Would you like to join?" Olette inquired.

"Of course I do!" the girl giggled. "That's why I'm asking."

"Um, are you sure you want to Rika?" Selphie asked. "I mean, do you even like sports?"

"Not really," the blonde girl admitted. "But it might be fun!"

Olette turned back to Selphie. "Do you know her?" she asked. Selphie, Kairi, and Yuffie nodded.

"Just a minute Rika," Selphie said. She pulled Olette away from the table. Yuffie and Kairi followed her.

"Don't let her join!" Selphie demanded once they were out of earshot.

"What?" Olette gasped. "Why not?"

"Trust us when we say this. You don't want Rika!" Yuffie whispered.

"We know Rika," Kairi joined in. "She's not exactly the…"

"What? What's wrong with her?" Olette asked.

The three girls looked at each other. "She is **the** definition of blonde," Selphie finally said.

Olette cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Olette, she's an idiot!" Yuffie snapped.

All four of them looked back at Rika. She was paying close attention to a butterfly that was flying around outside of a window. "Ooh! Pretty!" Rika squealed. She tried to go after the butterfly, only smacking her face against the window. Olette flinched. She turned back to her friends. Now she knew what they were talking about.

"We should let her play anyway," Olette tried to convince. "She really wants to. And besides, we need more players."

"It's your loss," Yuffie muttered. They walked back over to the table. Tifa and Fuu were snickering at Rika, who must have done something else stupid while the four others were talking.

"All right Rika!" Olette chirped. "We're going to let you play baseball with us."

"Awesome!" Rika squealed. "So we have to get strikes right? That's a good thing when we get strikes isn't it?" she asked. She looked at the others with a clueless expression.

Olette couldn't help but let her jaw drop in shock. She and the others stared at Rika like she was an idiot. That was because she really was an idiot!

"Oh my God," Yuffie murmured as she slapped her forehead.

"Rika, that's bowling," Olette corrected calmly.

Rika cocked her head. She looked confused. "So there aren't strikes in baseball?" she questioned.

"No, there are," Olette told her. "But it's a bad thing when you get a strike in baseball. It only good in bowling."

"Oh!" Rika exclaimed. "Yeah, I was confused."

"We could tell," Kairi muttered.

"This is going to be one weird game," Tifa mumbled to herself.

"Agreed," Fuu spoke up.

- x – x – x – x -

Olette walked down the hall, headed to her next class. "Hey you!" she heard someone shout behind her. She turned around and saw the same fat brunette kid that was from the baseball team. "You're the girl who wants to join the team right?" he asked once he finally reached Olette's side.

"Yeah, that's me," Olette answered.

"Hey, I'm Pence," he introduced. "I'm the team's catcher. The others want to know if you have a team ready or not."

"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell them," Olette muttered. "Yeah, I have a team ready."

Pence nodded. "All right. We'll be waiting after school in the lot." He began to run off.

"Wait! The first game is today?" Olette called.

"Yeah!" Pence shouted as he turned the corner.

Olette blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Great…" she mumbled.

- x – x – x – x -

"They want us to play today?" Tifa asked as all the girls headed over to the lot.

"Yup," Olette answered, feeling frazzled.

"But we didn't even get to practice together!" Rika whined.

"Tifa, Fuu, Kairi, Yuffie, and I have all practiced together," Selphie told her.

"Well yeah. But that's because you're all on the softball team," Rika complained.

"Don't worry," Olette said. "We'll be fine."

"What are our positions?" Tifa suddenly asked.

Olette stopped in her tracks. "Shoot!" she hissed.

"You didn't give us positions?" Yuffie asked.

"I didn't really think about it," Olette admitted.

"I'll be first base. I'm always first base," Kairi called dibs. Olette didn't know how Kairi could have heard anything they were talking about, considering she had music blaring loudly in her ear.

"Kairi, are you going to take your iPod out when we play?" Olette asked her. Kairi just stared at Olette. She didn't hear her.

"Kairi **never** turns her iPod off," Selphie sighed.

"It's okay though," Yuffie reassured. "Kairi can still play, even with her iPod. Also, Kairi is one of our best batters, just to let you know."

Olette made sure to remember that about Kairi. "Anyone else want to call dibs on a position?" Olette questioned.

"Oh!" Yuffie raised her hand in the air. "I'm an outfielder on the softball team! I play center field."

Rika looked confused. "What are you guys talking about?" she asked.

Olette studied Rika for a moment. "Hm…I think you'll be an outfielder too," Olette decided with a smile. Rika squealed and Yuffie groaned.

"We'll decide the rest when we get to the lot," Tifa said as she began to walk away. The team finally made it to the lot. Sure enough, the boys were waiting on the field. Sora was the first one to approach the girls.

"So are you ready to lose?" Sora tormented Olette.

"I'll have you know, I have the best softball players on my team!" Olette snapped.

"Ooh! Softball! I'm so scared!" Sora ridiculed.

"Little boy, I'm going to stick my foot up your butt!" Tifa threatened. Sora looked at Tifa and opened his mouth to retaliate, but closed it after realizing Tifa was **much** bigger than him. But that didn't stop him completely. He counted the girls on Olette's team then laughed.

"There are only seven people on your team!" he cackled. "You're going to lose badly!" He looked back at Tifa, who was now giving Sora a dirty glare. Sora cleared his throat nervously. "What are your positions?" he asked.

"We'll get back to you on that," Olette said.

"You have five minutes!" Sora called as he walked back over to his team.

Olette used up those five minutes to decide who was playing where. Her team decided, also, that it would be a good idea if Olette was the official captain of the girls' team. Olette was more than willing to agree to that idea.

"Do we get to pick our team name now?" Rika asked hopefully. The girls looked at each other.

"It would be cool to have a name," Kairi said.

"Very cool," Fuu agreed.

"We could be the Blueberry Yum Yums!" Rika chirped. The team looked at her like she was crazy.

"We are **not** calling ourselves that!" Yuffie disagreed.

"You come up with something better then!" Rika snapped.

"Guys!" Olette hissed. "We can come up with a name later!"

"Time's up!" Sora called from his group. The girls and the boys walked over to the middle of the field. Sora and Olette walked up to each other, glaring intently at each other.

"So what are the positions?" Sora asked seriously.

"Selphie's the pitcher, Kairi will play first base, I'm playing at second base, Fuu will be third base, Yuffie is center field, Tifa is our catcher, and Rika will be left field," Olette told him.

"What? No shortstop and right fielder?" Sora laughed mockingly.

"I don't have enough players," Olette told him through gritted teeth.

"And whose fault is that?" Sora tormented.

"Sora, leave them alone already," Sora's cousin sighed from behind him.

"Keep quiet Roxas!" Sora snapped.

"What are your positions on your team?" Olette demanded.

Sora looked back at Olette. "I'm playing shortstop, Roxas is the pitcher, Hayner is at first base, Riku is playing at second base, Tidus will be at third base, Pence is our catcher, Seifer is center field, Rai is at right field, and Waka is at left field," Sora told her.

_That sucks. They filled up all their positions. This might be harder than I thought…_Olette panicked to herself.

"So who's batting first?" Yuffie asked. There was a silent pause.

"I think that will be us," Sora decided with a cocky smile.

"And I think that will be us," Tifa said with a dangerous tone as she walked up to Sora. Sora looked up at her and smiled nervously.

"We could always flip a coin," Riku suggested.

"Anybody got a coin?" Selphie questioned. As it turned out, no one had money on them.

"Paper, Rock, Scissors?" Fuu spoke up.

Olette walked up to the front. "Anybody?" she challenged. All the boys looked at each other. Finally Roxas walked up to Olette. He held out his hand, indicating that he would go against Olette. Before they started Olette quickly glanced into his eyes. For a moment she felt light headed, but then looked down at her hand.

"Paper, rock, scissors," both Olette and Roxas recited in unison. They showed their hand. Roxas had paper and Olette had scissors. All the boys groaned. The girls shouted a triumphant "Yes!"

"Fine! We'll let you bat first! It's not like you'll be at the plate for long," Sora scoffed.

"I'll make sure to hit you with the ball!" Olette threatened Sora.

"Wait a minute," Rika spoke up. Everyone looked at her, expecting something stupid to come out of her mouth. "Don't we need that guy who calls if something is safe or whatever?" she asked.

"You mean an umpire?" Olette deciphered.

"Yeah! That thing!" Rika exclaimed.

All the teens looked at each other. "Yeah…We don't exactly have an umpire," Roxas said.

"Bah! We don't need one!" Seifer disagreed.

"Yeah, we kind of do," Yuffie sassed as she rolled her eyes.

"The catchers could be the umpires," Tidus suggested. That was when everyone looked at Tifa and Pence.

"Works with me," Tifa agreed. Pence nodded in agreement.

"But that's not too fair," Kairi pointed out.

Olette walked out in front of Tifa and Pence. "Do you two promise to call fair calls for **both** teams?" Olette asked with a stern voice. Both Pence and Tifa nodded yes in a child like way. Olette turned back to the others with a smile. "Now with that settled, are we going to play or what?"

"Let's get this game started," Sora ordered as he headed over to his team's dugout.

Olette and the girls went into their dugout on the other side of the field. There were already several bats in the dugout.

"Great. No helmets," Tifa sighed as she looked around the dugout. She was right, there were no helmets at all.

"Very unsafe," Fuu said firmly.

Olette looked over at the boys. They were still in their dugout. "It looks like they don't have any helmets either," Olette informed the others.

"Good. We can give them concussions," Tifa snickered.

The boys ran out onto the field. They all went to their positions.

"Can we really play without helmets though?" Rika asked Olette.

"Sure we can," Olette chirped. "That way you won't get helmet hair and ruin that pretty little hairdo of yours."

"Hurry up!" Sora shouted from the shortstop position.

"We're coming!" Olette yelled annoyingly. "Who's up to bat?"

"Ooh! That would be me!" Kairi announced excitedly.

"I hope you're as good as everyone says," Olette whispered to Kairi as she picked out her bat.

"What?" Kairi asked loudly. She didn't hear Olette because of her iPod.

"Honestly Kairi! Just turn that thing off!" Olette requested.

"No Olette! Kairi plays better with her iPod!" Selphie told.

"How can she concentrate?" asked Olette.

"Trust us, she can," Yuffie bragged proudly. "And you'll see what we mean in a moment."

Kairi walked over to the home plate with a bat in her hand and the iPod headphones in her ears. Kairi quickly chose a specific song on her tiny music player, then got into batting position. For a moment nothing happened. Roxas stood at the pitcher's mound completely frozen. Then suddenly he threw the ball with great speed. Kairi swung at the ball, and completely missed it. The boys on the field laughed.

"Come on Kairi!" Olette shouted from the dugout.

"No no. This is all part of Kairi's strategy," Selphie chirped.

"Strategy?" Olette echoed.

"Yeah," Yuffie interjected. "What Kairi does is she gets two strikes on purpose. She does that to build up the tension and to make the other team think that they have a chance. Then she hits the ball far on her third swing."

"She better hit the ball," Olette murmured.

Kairi got back into batting position. Roxas once again threw the ball. This time he threw it with less speed. Kairi swung away at it. The ball ended up in Pence's glove though.

"This is going to be easier than I thought!" Olette heard Sora cackle from the field.

"That Sora kid is getting on my nerves!" Olette hissed.

"Thank goodness his cousin is the exact opposite of him," Yuffie sighed as she walked up to Olette's side. Olette looked over at Roxas. He didn't look as rude as Sora did, but that didn't mean he didn't have the same attitude Sora did.

Kairi stretched for a moment, then got back into her batting position. Olette noticed Kairi's form was better than before. The field was quiet and no one was cheering for Kairi. It didn't matter; Kairi wouldn't have heard the cheering. Roxas threw another fastball. Suddenly Kairi swung her bat with great force, and it actually made contact with the baseball! It went right over Roxas' head and flew into the center field. Kairi ran like the wind from home plate to first base, with all the girls loudly cheering for her. Luckily Seifer completely screwed up and let the ball roll past him. He didn't expect Kairi to hit the ball and completely let his guard down. Because of this Kairi continued running past first base and headed for second. She made it before Riku caught the ball thrown by Seifer.

"Way to go Kairi!" all the girls shouted. They were also yelling other random things of praise.

"Hey you! At two! Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!" Yuffie, Selphie, and Tifa cheered from the dugout. At their request, Kairi wiggled at second base. Olette knew that cheer, but never actually said it. She looked back at the field. She saw Sora, who looked mad.

"Come on guys! They're just a bunch of girls! We can take them down!" he shouted to the other boys. Olette smirked to herself.

"Second batter up!" Pence called.

"I'm next!" Yuffie chirped. She grabbed a bat and dashed out of the dugout.

"How if Yuffie with her hitting?" Olette asked.

Selphie and Tifa looked at each other.

"Depends really," Tifa finally answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Yuffie is an iffy batter," Selphie said.

Olette cocked her head. Did that mean she was bad or good? Olette couldn't tell. She looked back at the home plate. Yuffie stepped up to the plate, full of energy. She practice swung her bat a few times, then got into position. Roxas waited for a moment, then threw the baseball as hard as he could. He had thrown a ball though instead of a perfect strike. But Yuffie swung at it anyway and it was counted as a strike.

"Come on Yuffie! Be patient!" Selphie shouted from the dugout. Yuffie huffed loudly and got back into position.

"Hey girly! Where's your helmet?" Sora taunted with a laugh from his position.

Yuffie tried to ignore him and concentrate on Roxas. Roxas threw the ball again. This time he threw the ball perfectly. Yuffie must have concentrated well because she hit the ball this time. It went flying from home plate and headed straight for Sora. Sora did not see that coming and got hit hard in the head by the ball. He fell to the ground with a huge headache. The ball drop next to him. Yuffie and Kairi ran as fast as they could. Kairi jumped over Sora as she made her way to third base. Yuffie went straight for first base. She laughed all the way from home to first. Eventually Tidus ran from third base over to Sora's side and picked the ball up. Kairi stopped at third and Yuffie stopped at first. Tidus threw the ball to Roxas, then helped Sora up.

"Hey boy! Where's your helmet?" Yuffie mocked with a rude laugh.

Sora grumbled to himself, rubbing his head in pain. Olette laughed too at his misery.

_That'll show him!_

"See. Yuffie can hit, she just has to be in the right mood," Selphie suddenly spoke up.

"I'm guessing that mood is mad," Olette chuckled.

Selphie, Tifa, and Fuu nodded. "Yup."

"Who's up next?" Pence called from behind home plate.

"Ooh! Can I go please?" Rika begged with puppy dog eyes.

"I think Olette should go next actually," Selphie disagreed. She just didn't want Rika to bat. She had never played the sport before, which meant she was probably bad. Rika stared at the ground sad.

"Don't worry. You'll go eventually," Tifa reassured the sadden girl.

"Eventually," Fuu repeated.

Olette picked up a bat from the pile. She walked out of the dugout and walked over to the home plate.

"Time to bring Kairi and Yuffie home," Olette whispered to herself as she got into batting position. She looked at Roxas and waited for him to move. Even from the home plate, she could still make out the crystal clear blue in his eyes. She went back to thinking about the ball he was going to throw.

"Kairi, we miss you! Come home! Come home! Yuffie, we miss you! Come home! Come home!" Tifa and, amazingly, Fuu cheered from the dugout. It meant that Olette needed to hit a homerun or a hit that would make Kairi run to home plate. Rika didn't participate in the cheers because she didn't know them.

_Just one perfect hit!_

Roxas moved quickly and pitched the ball with all his strength. Olette watched the ball fly at her, waiting for the right moment. Then she smacked the ball with her bat as hard as she could. She watched the ball glide through the air and fly into left field. The girls were yelling to run and go from the dugout. Olette threw the bat aside and ran to first base as fast as she could. She saw Kairi went from third base, scoring the first point for the girls' team. Yuffie dashed from second to third. The ball was still in the outfield, so Olette ran past first and ran towards second.

"Keep going Yuffie!" all the girls yelled. Yuffie stood at third for a moment, but then decided to listen to them and headed for home. Waka finally got the ball, so Olette decided to stay at second instead of taking a chance. Waka threw the ball to Tidus. He caught the ball and threw it as fast as he could to Pence. Yuffie was still running to home. Olette didn't want to watch anymore, but couldn't peel her eyes away. It all happened in slow motion: Yuffie running to home, the ball just right behind her, Pence ready to tag Yuffie out. The girls from the dugout shouted for Yuffie to slide. Once again, Yuffie obeyed. She dropped to the dirt ground and slid as fast as she could. There was a huge dust cloud around home plate. The ball disappeared in the dust cloud along with Yuffie and Pence. Everyone stood where they were frozen and holding their breath. Finally the dust cleared. Yuffie had slid on the plate and stayed that way, with Pence holding his glove on her.

"What's the call?" Roxas asked. Pence looked up at them almost in disbelief.

"Safe!" Pence answered. All the girls cheered once more. Sora and the other boys cursed to themselves, excluding Roxas and Pence.

"Good job Yuffie!" Olette called from second base. Yuffie walked back to the dugout, satisfied and dusty. The girls' team now had two points. It was going good so far.

Selphie walked out to the home plate holding on to a bat. Olette got ready to steal a base while Selphie got into her batting position. Roxas didn't stand frozen for a moment this time and went on ahead and threw the ball. It would have been a perfect hit, but Selphie swung too late and missed.

"Strike one!" Pence called as he threw the ball back at Roxas.

"It's okay Selphie! You got this one!" Yuffie encouraged her teammate from behind the fence of the dugout.

Selphie held her bat over her shoulder and got ready to hit the ball. Roxas stared at the batter. Suddenly he threw a fastball. Selphie swung and hit the ball. In fact, she hit the ball far! It went through the air to right field. Selphie thought she did a perfect job and dashed to first base. On impulse, Olette headed for third base. But then Rai caught Selphie's hit, which meant Selphie was out. Olette, a little peeved now, went back to second base. Selphie screamed at Rai for a moment, then stormed back to the dugout.

"It's okay," Olette heard Yuffie try to calm Selphie down.

"Me next?" Rika asked hopefully.

Fuu shook her head. "Me." Fuu went over and grabbed a bat. Rika pouted and crossed her arms. Tifa laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"How about I let you go next?" Tifa suggested. Rika nodded excitedly. Yuffie and Selphie frowned, but didn't disagree. Olette was glad there was at least one other person who was trying to be nice to Rika.

Fuu made her way to the home plate, being her usual silent, calm self. Olette stepped slightly off the second base, waiting for Fuu to hit the ball. Roxas threw the baseball, except it was a ball. Unlike Yuffie, Fuu saw this and didn't swing.

"Ball one!" Pence called as he threw the ball back at Roxas.

"Come one Roxas!" Sora called to his cousin. "You can do better than that!"

Olette saw Roxas frown for a moment. Then he quickly threw the ball, once again throwing another poor ball. Fuu once again didn't swing.

"Ball two!" Pence informed, sounding a little agitated.

"Roxas!" the boys shouted. Roxas huffed loudly as he caught the ball thrown by Pence.

There was another pause as Roxas waited to throw the ball. When he finally did Fuu didn't swing as hard as she could at the ball. Instead she bunted the ball. Pence wasn't expecting this. By the time he realized it Fuu was already halfway to first base. Olette slid and made it all the way to third base. Pence picked up the ball and threw it back to Roxas. Fuu had made it to first base.

"Way to bunt it Fuu!" Tifa congratulated from the dugout.

"Fuu **always** bunts," Olette heard Selphie say.

"Now I can bat?" Rika asked excitedly. Tifa nodded. Rika cheered and grabbed a bat with much enthusiasm.

"Just don't mess up okay?" Yuffie sighed when Rika passed by her.

Rika skipped all the way to home plate. She tried to hold the bat the others had. Sora motioned to the others in the outfield. They all came in closer. Olette frowned at that. It was like they expected Rika to be extremely bad.

_Two points, one out. Come on Rika! Don't strike out!_

Roxas threw a slow ball for Rika. She swung five seconds too early. She also swung so hard the bat slipped out of her hands. The bat went soaring right at Sora. He didn't get to duck out of the way and got whacked in the stomach with great force by the bat. He yelled and crouched to the floor, obviously in a lot of pain. While Olette tried to muffle her giggle with her hands, the other girls laughed loudly and rudely from the dugout.

"Way to go Rika! Good job!" Yuffie cheered.

"But I missed the ball," Rika said.

"Yeah, but that was better than a homerun!" Yuffie laughed, pointing at the miserable boy still writhing on the ground.

Both Riku and Tidus had run over to Sora to help him up. He staggered up without them though and shouted, "I don't need your help!"

"Dude, you're getting hurt a lot today," Riku said as he tried not to chuckle.

"First the ball, now the bat," Tidus listed.

"Just wait! Those girls will get theirs," Sora hissed. Riku and Tidus dashed back over to their positions.

"Try holding on to your bat!" Sora snarled as he walked over to Rika and handed her back her bat. He stormed back over to the shortstop position.

For the first time today Olette thought she saw Roxas actually smiling – but only for a split second. It was one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments. He threw another slow ball, but once again Rika missed. And, once again, the bat slipped out of her hands. You'd think Sora would have been more aware the second time. But he got hit again by the bat.

"You did that one on purpose!" Sora screamed from the ground as everyone burst out into laughter.

"Mustn't overdo a good thing Rika!" Yuffie chided with laughter from the dugout.

"Sorry," Rika apologized timidly as Sora stomped back over to her and shoved the bat at her.

"TRY TO HOLD YOUR BAT," Sora warned Rika again before going back to his position on the field.

Roxas calmed down and regained his serious face. This time, he threw a fastball. Rika swung too late this time and missed the ball. But she swung the bat so hard again that it went flying out of her hands again! But this time it went flying in Roxas' direction. Unlike his cousin though, Roxas managed to duck in time. The bat went soaring over his head and landed behind him.

"Roxas seems to have good reflexes," Tifa said.

"Yeah, unlike his cousin. Sora has the reflexes of a dead cat!" Yuffie chortled. Sora must have heard because he had an angry expression on his face.

"That was strike three!" Pence informed everyone. "You're out!"

Rika sulked for a moment, but then skipped right back over to the dugout.

"I gotta say Rika, that was pretty amazing," Selphie chirped as she patted Rika on the back.

"But…I missed every time," Rika complained.

"But that was extremely amusing," Tifa cheered her up.

"Way to get Sora in the gut…twice!" Yuffie snickered.

"Poor Sora," Kairi sympathized. Everyone in the dugout stared at her with shocked expressions.

"What did you say?" gasped Yuffie.

"Your turn Tifa!" Kairi quickly chirped, her face turning slightly red.

Tifa grabbed a bat and made her to home plate. Olette was certain that Tifa would bring her home. She looked like a person who could hit a homerun. Plus, Sora feared her for a reason right? Roxas must have thought she would be a challenge too, because he lingered a second longer to throw his ball at Tifa. When he did finally throw it he threw it as hard and as fast a he could. Tifa swung, but the ball went past her bat.

"Strike one!" Pence threw the ball back at Roxas.

Tifa took a deep breath and got back into batting position. Roxas repeated the same thing and threw another difficult ball. Tifa managed to fit this one, but she swung a second too late. So the ball ended up flying past the line and hit the fence.

"Foul ball!" Pence shouted.

"What's going on?" Olette breathed. She looked over at the dugout. She made eye contact with Yuffie, who gave her an innocent smile. Olette frowned and knew exactly what that meant. They didn't tell her that just because Tifa looked like she could bat, she actually wasn't very good at it. Olette groaned and expected the worse.

Roxas got the ball from Hayner, and got back into position. He held the ball behind his back for a moment. He then threw another one of his fastballs. Though Tifa swung a second too late, she still managed to send the ball flying past Hayner and Fuu at first base. Olette, Fuu, and Tifa took off running. Olette was about to step on the home plate, when she saw out of the corner of her eye Hayner diving for the ball and running back to first base. He stepped on the plate before Tifa, and tagged her out. Olette stopped just right before she ran onto the home plate.

"Aw man," she sighed.

"You're out! That's three outs!" Pence announced to both the teams.

"We're up next!" Sora cackled. The girls came out of the dugout, not looking too happy. Two points wasn't enough to satisfy them. Sora ran up to them and laughed, "You losers! Ha ha!"

It took both Selphie and Kairi to hold Yuffie back. If they hadn't she would have clawed Sora's eyes out.

"I can't believe he's related to me," Roxas sighed as he hung his head in shame. Olette headed to second base, where she was positioned, and walked by Roxas.

"Good luck," she heard Roxas say just as she passed him. She looked back as he ran over to the boys' dugout.

"Thanks…" she whispered. The girls huddled in the middle of the infield.

"Who's going to be the one crying at the end of this game?" Yuffie asked.

"The boys!" the girls responded.

"That's right!" Yuffie went on. Olette didn't know why she was chosen to be the captain of the team. Yuffie seemed more fitting for the position. "Who's going to win?"

"Us girls!"

"Exactly! Now let's show these boys what we're made of!" Yuffie exclaimed, breaking the huddle.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x -

_**A/N – I'm just writing to apologize for taking FOREVER to update. So I will understand if you yell at me. Originally I was going to add the girl's side of the game in this chapter, but I thought it was already too long. So their part will be in the next chapter. Also, there will be other surprises, not just baseball, so prepare yourself! I've noticed I made Sora a complete and utter jerk. I know that that's not his original character, but the jerky Sora fits better in this story than the nice Sora. I'm hoping this wasn't too boring for you. I realize it's not fun reading baseball, but I'll try to make it exciting for you guys! Now go and review, I command you!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Olette stood at second base, where she was positioned. She watched as Selphie readied herself at the pitcher's mound and Sora made his way to the home plate with a bat in his hand. Sora paused for a moment as he stared at the girls' catcher, who was Tifa. Olette guessed Sora hesitated because of his newfound fear of Tifa, but eventually stood in front of Tifa in batting position. Selphie took a moment before she swung her arm back, spun it around in a complete circle, and threw an underhand ball.

Sora straightened up and let the ball zip past him. Olette saw him stare at her with an annoyed look.

"What's wrong now?" Selphie demanded, placing her hand on her hip to emphasize her irritation.

"I thought we had a deal!" Sora shouted to Olette. "We play by the rules of baseball!"

Selphie now turned to face Olette from where she stood. "What is he talking about?"

"Um…" Olette had completely forgotten to explain the rules of the game to her team.

"Don't tell me you forgot to tell these girls the rules," Sora said. Olette only rubbed the back of her head, silently responding to his question. "Well! Hurry up and tell them the rules!" Sora got off the field, which allowed the girls to have another five-minute huddle. Olette explained all the rules to her team; as it turned out, Selphie wasn't supposed to throw underhand.

"But I can't pitch overhand!" Selphie complained in a whiney tone.

Rika pouted. "Like, what are we going to do now?"

"Well…" Olette paused. "I was the pitcher for my old school's team. It was a baseball team."

"Can you pitch overhand?" questioned Kairi, her iPod still blasting music into her ear.

Olette nodded. "This is no problem for me. You don't mind switching positions, do you Selphie?"

Selphie tapped her chin, pretending to think. But she knew Olette was the only one on the team who could be the pitcher. "I guess I could play at second base," Selphie sighed, being dramatic. She was only teasing Olette though.

Olette clapped her hands together. "Excellent! We'll have those boys out in no time!"

"Let's go team!" Yuffie cheered.

"Can we come up with a name now?" Rika squeaked.

"No," the whole team disagreed simultaneously.

Yuffie broke the huddle and all the girls headed back to their positions, Olette now heading over to the pitcher's mound. Selphie took her place at second base.

"You losers ready?" Sora called from the dugout.

"Bring it on!" Olette challenged.

_Note to self: Get Sora for that loser comment._

The first batter on the boys' team, Riku, headed over to home plate. Riku stood frozen in batting position at home plate as he waited for Olette to make her move. He hit the ball on Olette's first throw. Unfortunately the ball went into the right field, where no one was due to the lack of players on Olette's team. By the time Yuffie finally dashed out onto the right field and scooped the ball up, Riku had already made it to second base. Olette huffed as she watched the next batter come up to the plate.

_I wish I had more people on my team._

Sora once again strutted towards the home plate, like he owned the whole field, with a bat in his hand. Sora practiced swung for a moment, as if he were trying to intimidate Olette. Then he got into his batting position. Olette didn't wait; she quickly threw the ball overhand as hard as she could at Sora. Unfortunately, it was a ball rather than a strike, and Sora didn't swing at it.

"Ball one," Tifa grumbled. She threw the baseball back at Olette.

She saw Sora smirking as he got back into his position. Olette narrowed her eyes, but tried to stay focus. It was kind of hard though, with all the boys whooping and hollering from their dugout. She threw the ball as fast as she could. Sora didn't swing at that one either.

"Ball two." Tifa tossed the ball back over to Olette.

"Whose side are you on Tifa?" Selphie barked from second base.

"Come on Olette! You can do it!" Kairi encouraged.

Olette squeezed the ball, trying not to get frustrated. Not every pitcher could throw perfectly.

"Let's go Sora, let's go!" the boys began chanting in unison. Olette thought it was unnecessary.

She took a deep breath, then threw the ball at Sora. But she threw another poor ball! Olette swore she saw Sora snicker to himself.

"Ball three," Tifa announce as she passed the ball to Olette.

"One more ball and I get to walk!" Sora taunted from where he was. He got back into batting position. Olette was about to pitch the ball when Sora continued. "I bet your old team is glad you're not their pitcher anymore!" he mocked. Olette gritted her teeth together.

_Time to get Sora._

Olette tossed the ball between her glove and throwing hand. She waited for a minute, trying to get a good aim. When her aiming was complete, she brought her arm all the way back, and fired! Instead of the ball flying past Sora into Tifa's glove, it smashed into Sora's face. He dropped the bat and grasped his face in pain. All the girls on the field began laughing at him while the boys fell silent.

"Baseball is a dangerous game for you isn't it?" Tifa chuckled at Sora.

"Do you know what this means?" Sora yelled from behind his hands. "Do you know what happens when a batter gets hit by the ball?"

"He's right," Tifa called to Olette. "He gets to walk because he was hit."

"Aw man," Olette said under her breath. She wanted to watch Sora get hurt again so much, she forgot that if the batter got hit by the ball they automatically get to walk to the next base.

Sora tossed his bat aside and parade towards the first base. When he made it to the base he and Kairi exchanged smiles.

"Hi Sora," Kairi whispered shyly.

"Hey Kairi." Sora smiled proudly.

Olette had been watching the both of them from her spot. The three-second scene between Sora and Kairi made her feel nauseated. Olette felt like she was going to vomit for a moment. She shook her head and faced the home plate, where Roxas was now standing. He was already ready to swing away.

"Gotta remember not to hit the batters with the ball on purpose," Olette reminded herself. She quickly glanced at Sora, who was still acting like he was all that. "**No matter how much you want to**," she added through clenched teeth.

Roxas stood in front of Tifa and held the bat over his shoulder. He looked over at Olette. For a fraction of a second, their eyes met. For a moment, Olette thought her heart did a back flip. She decided she only imagined it and ignored it. Still, Olette continued staring at Roxas blankly. He had made her completely forget where she was and what she was doing.

"Hello! Olette! Pitch already!" Selphie's voice demanded in the distance. Olette snapped out of her trance and suddenly remembered what she was doing. She brought her arm back and threw a curveball as best as she could. Roxas swung at it and missed.

"Strike one!" shouted Tifa.

"Come one Roxas!" the boys' team cheered. "Bring Riku and Sora home!"

Olette caught the ball thrown by Tifa. She took a deep breath and concentrated her energy on the ball. She swung her arm back swiftly and threw the ball as hard as she could. This time Roxas waited carefully and hit the ball. It went flying past Olette. It bounced on the grass in the left field. Rika went skipping after it. She lunged at it when it was just a few feet in front of her. But she jumped right over the ball and landed in the grass face first. The ball continued rolling through the field. While this was happening Riku had already made it to home base and Sora was on his way to third base. Roxas had dashed from home plate and stepped over first base. He continued towards second base. Finally, Yuffie ran after the ball and flung it at Selphie, trying to get Roxas out. But he had already stepped on second base when Selphie caught it. Sora was stuck on third base when Olette caught the ball from Selphie.

"Rika…" Olette muttered.

"That was kind of fun," Rika chirped.

"Yeah, if you call losing fun," Yuffie snapped.

"I told you girls couldn't play baseball!" Sora laughed from third base.

Olette thought about it for a moment. But then she threw the ball at Sora. He was hit on the head by the ball.

"What the heck!" yelled Sora. "That should count as a walk!"

"The ball wasn't in play," Olette told him even as she giggled.

"She is right you know," Tifa agreed. Sora muttered to himself as he rubbed his head. Fuu picked up the ball and tossed it over to Olette. She watched Hayner walk over to the home plate.

_So they have one point. Boy that was quick._

Olette sighed, then threw the ball towards home plate. Hayner actually managed to miss. Olette got the ball while smirking. Maybe the boys wouldn't catch up. Olette swung her arm forward and threw a fastball. The ball already passed Hayner by the time he tried to swing.

"Strike two!" Tifa laughed.

"Come one Hayner!" Sora barked. "You don't suck this much!"

"Thanks for your motivation," Hayner hissed while getting back into batting position.

Olette tried not to laugh as she passed the ball back in forth between her hands. It seemed like the boys weren't all for teamwork. Olette quickly brought her arm back then forward. The ball zipped past Hayner, striking him out.

"That's strike three!" Tifa shouted. "You're out!"

Hayner grumbled loudly. He stomped back over to the dugout and shoved his bat to the next player: Seifer. When he was at home plate he swung the bat around a few times. Something told Olette that he was a good batter. Seifer banged the tip of the bat against the dirt, then got into his batting position. Olette swung her arm around in a circle to warm her up. She threw the ball at Seifer, who actually hit it on his first swing. In fact, he hit the ball all the way to the fence that gated the lot in. Yuffie and Rika both hurried over to the ball. When they both bent down to get it they conked each other's heads and fell to the grass.

Sora had already stepped on home plate. Roxas was close to third base. Seifer had just run around first base was now heading over to second. Yuffie reached over to the ball, while grasping her head in pain, and threw it over to Selphie. But the ball didn't reach Selphie. She left second base and ran over to the ball. Seifer made it to second base when Selphie ran back over to her position. Roxas made it to the home plate by the time Selphie threw the ball at Tifa. Both Seifer and Roxas were safe. Tifa threw the ball to Olette.

"All right!" Sora gloated. "Two points in one move!"

"Way to go Seifer!" Rai congratulated.

Olette stood where she was with her mouth hanging open. The boys already had three points and just one out! For a moment she felt like screaming. But she ruled that out as immature behavior and kept quiet. She waited for the next batter. Now standing at the home plate with a bat in his hands was Tidus. Olette narrowed her eyes as a wave of anger washed over her. She decided that she would do whatever she could to make sure Tidus got out. Not even trying her best, Olette swung her arm around with whatever strength she could muster up and flung that ball. It soared right past Tidus into Tifa's glove. Unfortunately…

"Ball one," Tifa judged.

"What?" Olette practically shouted. Now she was mad.

"You've got this one Tidus!" the boys shouted.

Olette growled and brought her arm back. She threw the ball with her strength again. This time Tidus swung his bat at it and hit the ball. It went flying at Olette. Tidus took off running towards first base. Right when the ball was just above Olette's head she jumped up with her arm outstretched. The ball flew into Olette's glove, which meant Tidus was out.

"Oh yeah! You're out!" Olette bragged. "In your face!"

Tidus scowled at Olette. He went back over to his dugout. Olette was still bragging when she had a realization. She fell silent and stared at the ground.

_Ew! I'm starting to act like Sora!_

Olette calmed herself down and waited for the next boy to reach home plate. Pence was at home plate with a bat. Olette waited for a second before throwing the ball. Pence swung forward and managed to hit the ball. It looked like it was heading over to right field. Yuffie noticed this and began running over to that section of the field. Seifer ran from second straight for third, leaving a trail of dust behind him. Pence began waddling over to first base. Yuffie dived for the ball. The ball slipped into her glove just as she crashed to the ground. She threw the ball from where she was on the ground to Fuu. The ball rolled over to where a shortstop should have been. Fuu went over to the ball as Seifer ran past her. Pence was already at first base when Fuu picked the ball up. And Seifer was already halfway to the home plate. Fuu quickly passed the ball to Olette. But Seifer was already on home base long before Olette got the ball in her hand.

"Four points!" the boys cheered as Seifer strutted back over to his dugout.

There was a look of uncertainty shared among the girls. The boys were already two points ahead of them. At this rate, Olette was never getting on the Sunny Side High School baseball team! She took a deep breath and tried to remember that it was important for a player to believe in their team. All Olette had to do was believe in the girls, and they would win. Hopefully…

Rai was now standing at home base. He was more muscular than the other boys. He looked like he would make a better football player than a baseball player. Olette lost her hope again, just knowing that Rai was likely to make a homerun. She decided to screw it and just threw the ball. It wasn't exactly one of her best throws.

"Ball one!"

Olette stretched after Tifa threw the ball back at her. She had to get back on her game. She brought her arm as far back as she could, then threw the ball. Rai swung at the ball. There was a loud crack when his bat made contact. He and Pence took off running. Olette's eyes followed the ball as it went flying into the left field where Rika was.

"Oh no…" Olette covered her eyes, unable to watch.

Rika's face lit up when she saw the ball soaring into her section of the field. "I got it!" she shouted as she began running around in a circle underneath the ball. She finally chose a spot and waited with her glove sticking up in the air. All the girls watched, completely frozen, as the ball fell out of the sky and…landed in Rika's glove!? Rika actually caught the ball! Olette peeked through her fingers and saw that Rika had caught the ball.

_I don't believe it! Rika actually caught the ball! RIKA CAUGHT THE BALL! __**SHE CAUGHT THE BALL!**_

Rai and Pence were also frozen from shock. The boys in the dugout who were cheering five seconds ago had even gasped when they saw the ball land in Rika's glove. Rika was staring at the ball in her glove with a grin on her face.

"Hey!" Rika chirped as she looked at Olette on the pitcher's mound. "I caught the ball!"

"Which means," Tifa said, finally regaining her voice, "that your out! That makes three outs!"

"I don't believe this!" Sora shouted as he marched out of his dugout. He stomped right up to Olette. She stuck her tongue out at him. The mocking made his face turn red. "It doesn't matter!" he snarled in her face. "We still have two more points than you!"

"But it's our turn. Just watch! We'll catch up!" Olette warned.

The boys and girls surrounded them, expecting a juicy verbal fight between the two captains of the teams. Sora smirked. "You've got a lot of confidence for a girl."

"Again with the sexist remarks," hissed Olette.

"I'm just saying," Sora said aloofly. "You're different from other girls."

Just then someone's car horn began honking. Everyone's attention was directed to the car parked by the fence. A woman's head was sticking out the window shouting, "Sora! Time to go home sweetie!"

"Mom!" Sora snapped, his face turning a darker shade of red. Except this time it was from embarrassment instead of frustration. He turned back to Olette. "Looks like our game has to be cut short."

"No way!" Yuffie decided. She stepped next to Olette with her arms crossed. "This should count as a forfeit!"

"He's just leaving early!" Riku snarled. "His mommy wants him to come home!" he added with a cooed baby voice.

"Knock it off!" Sora demanded.

"Fine!" Olette gave in. "We'll continue this game another day. Tomorrow!"

Sora nodded. "Fine by me."

Sora's mom honked her car horn again. "Come on sweetie! It's time to come home!"

"Mom!" Sora shouted. "Just a minute!" He turned back to Olette. The boys around him snickered. He ignored them and looked Olette over. He smirked at her. It made Olette feel uncomfortable, almost like he was checking her out. "How about we make another deal," Sora suggested.

"We already have one," Olette sighed.

"Well, we can make another one," said Sora. He leaned in so that their faces were almost touching. "If your team loses against mine," he whispered in a mischievous tone, "**you have to kiss me.**"

"What?" both Roxas and Kairi gasped.

Olette almost allowed herself to vomit. She managed to keep her lunch down. But her skin lost some of its color. She was shocked, and could barely shout, "WHAT?"

"If you lose not only are you not allowed to join the baseball team, but you also have to kiss me," Sora sniggered.

"But you hate me!" Olette argued.

"Still." Sora leaned in uncomfortably close to Olette once more. She tried to lean back from him. "You're pretty cute for a loser."

Behind him Roxas crossed his arms and glared at the back of Sora's head. Kairi was still gaping at Sora, her eye twitching. Olette's face turned red. She wasn't blushing. No, on the contrary, she was red-faced because she was outraged.

"No way!" Olette bellowed. "I'm not going to kiss you!"

"What? Afraid you'll loose?" Sora taunted. He smirked and crossed his arms. He wouldn't tear his eyes away from Olette.

Olette was about to argue back, but Sora knew the right thing to say. _Afraid you'll loose?_ Olette slowly breathed in, completely infuriated. But she wasn't about to back down from a challenge. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "Fine. If I loose I'm not allowed to join the base ball team and I have to…" Olette gulped. "…kiss you."

"Then it's a deal," agreed Sora.

The car's horn honked once more. "Come on Sora!" his mother ordered more sternly. "I don't have all day! NOW GET YOUR BUTT IN THIS CAR!"

"I'm coming!" Sora turned back to Olette with a smirk. "I'll be waiting for my kiss," he whispered before he headed over to his mother's car.

Olette stood frozen, completely blinded by rage. She stood where she was, breathing slowly in and out. She was staring wide-eyed at the ground with fire burning in her eyes. Everyone around her was afraid to say anything to her. They left her as she was.

"Until tomorrow ladies," Seifer fare welled. He left the group with half of the boys obediently following him. Before leaving, Roxas faced Olette (who was still in a state of utter fury).

"My cousin's just all talk," Roxas sighed. Olette managed to snap out of her angry trance long enough to stare into Roxas' crystal blue eyes. "You don't have to worry about him." There was a pause as Roxas silently stared back into Olette's eyes. Then he turned and chased after his team. Olette went back to holding all her anger inside. The girls circled Olette, staring at her with a feeling of terror.

"Olette?" Tifa dared. Olette's eyes darted at Tifa. It caused Tifa to flinch.

"You okay?" Selphie asked.

"You seem…angry," said Yuffie.

"Very angry," Fuu agreed with a nod.

There was no reply from Olette. She stayed the way she was.

"Go on darling. Let it all out," Kairi soothed.

There was an eerie stillness in the air. For a moment Olette did nothing. Then she suddenly, with her eyes shut closed, shrieked to the heavens, "I'M GOING TO MURDER HIM!!!"

- x – x – x – x -

"Have you calmed down yet?" Yuffie grunted.

Olette nodded with a sigh. She took a long sip of her milkshake. Her and her three friends, Yuffie, Selphie, and Kairi, sat in a booth in the back of a small diner. Olette stared out the window she sat by. In the sky the sun was getting ready to set. A few heavy gray colored clouds lingered in the sky. Could it mean rain? Hopefully not, for Olette didn't bring an umbrella with her. She gazed back to her three friends. When she saw them all smiling at her she felt ashamed for a moment. Today, Olette had lacked faith in her friends, but she made sure not to do that again. She knew her friends were there for her, and would do whatever it took to help her win. She flashed a smile back to her friends.

"Hey look! A smile!" Selphie teased. "I think that means she's doing better."

Olette chuckled. "Sorry guys. It's just…ooh! The nerve of that Sora kid!"

"Don't worry about it Olette," said Kairi.

"I just DON'T WANT TO KISS HIM."

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," Yuffie promised, reassuring Olette with a wink.

"Yeah!" Selphie agreed. "We'll catch up to them in the second inning tomorrow!"

Olette gave them a weak smile. "Thanks guys. But to be honest, I'd be more confident if my best friend were here."

"Why's that?" Kairi asked. She still had her iPod on. And Olette wasn't sure it'd be worth explaining to her, since Kairi had music blasting into her ears. But Olette explained anyway, for Yuffie and Selphie.

"In my old school, I was on the baseball team with my best friend," Olette began. "We were the best on the team – even better than the boys! My friend was a great player. She made an excellent shortstop. If we had her playing on our team we'd win for sure!" Olette sighed, feeling sadden. "But alas, she's stuck on the other side of Twilight Town and has no idea where I live."

"She does sound good," Yuffie concurred.

"We'll just have to do with the players we have," Kairi told.

Selphie looked at a watch on her wrist. "Well, I got to go. I'll see you tomorrow guys!" The three of them watched Selphie skip out the door.

"Kairi and I are gonna go too," Yuffie fare welled, getting out of the booth.

"Yep," Kairi said. "Wanna leave before it starts to rain."

The two of them left Olette sitting by herself in the booth. She sipped from her milkshake in silence. She looked back at the window, staring at her reflection. She was suddenly no longer staring at herself, but the smirking face of Sora making kissy faces at her. Olette clenched her teeth with a low growl. She grabbed her milkshake and threw it at the window, causing the beverage to splash all over the image of Sora. It disappeared as the milkshake slowly skimmed down the glass window.

"What was that for?" one of the waiters that worked in the diner questioned. Olette did a double take at the window and stared at the waiter with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry." Olette heard faint tapping on the window. She turned to look. She saw that it was now raining outside. "Great…" Olette walked out of the diner and stared up at the dark sky. A raindrop hit her eye. She decided to walk home in the rain. She figured she wouldn't get sick anyway.

Olette trudged her way through the rain. Her feet splashed a puddle every five seconds as she walked down the sidewalk. She thought about what she said in the diner. She really did wish her best friend were there to help her beat the boys. She saw her house in the distance, between a few buildings, and sneezed. Her hair was damp and her clothes were drenched by the time she reached her house. She shoved her way through the door, not feeling to well.

"Welcome home Ollie!" her dad greeted from the living room. Olette sighed. She wasn't fond of the nickname Ollie at all. In fact, she hated it with a burning passion. But no matter what, her dad always ended up calling her by that nickname.

"Hi…" Olette dropped her soaking backpack to the floor.

"Don't tell me you walked all the way home in the rain!" Olette's mother gasped.

"Why do you think I'm wet," she grumbled.

"Now Ollie," her dad said with a sharpened tone. "That kind of attitude isn't wanted in this household."

Olette sneezed. "I'll be in my room." She climbed the stairs, sniffling all the way up.

"I'm worried," Olette's mother whispered, as if afraid Olette might overhear. "Do you think the move was too much for her?"

"Nonsense!" Olette's father laughed. "Ollie's a tough girl. Nothing's too hard for her!"

Olette slumped into her spinny chair and stared at her blank computer screen. Next to her computer was her favorite picture of her and her best friend. Olette sighed heavily and stared at the clock. It was just seven thirty-two. She knew it wasn't a good idea, but got on her computer anyway. She checked her email quickly. Unfortunately her friend hadn't emailed her at all since she moved, which Olette found strange. She goofed off on the Internet for a while longer, but quickly got bored with it. She shut her computer down and flopped on to her bed. She let out a sneeze and groaned. For a while Olette had forced herself to read a book that lay open on her nightstand, and she eventually lost track of time. It was only when heard something hit her window that her eyes darted back to her digital clock. It was ten twenty PM. There it was again: something hitting against her window. Olette's head quickly turned to her window. Her whole room was dark except for the lamp next to her, and the strange noise added a creepy feeling to the room. Olette tossed the book aside and slowly tiptoed her way to the window. She was sure that her parents were most likely asleep by now. Olette opened up the window and stuck her head out. A rock hit Olette in the face.

"Ow! What the hello kitty?" Olette looked down at the sidewalk. She could see a figure standing in front of her house with a bunch of rocks in their hands. It was too dark, and Olette was unable to identify the person.

"Yo! Olette! That you?" a familiar voice whispered loudly from the sidewalk.

Olette's vision finally adapted to the darkness. Her jaw dropped when she realized who was throwing pebbles at her window. She was staring down at the familiar face of her best friend. "Naminé?" Olette gasped.


	4. Chapter 4

"Naminé?" Olette gasped. "I don't believe it! Naminé!"

"Hey girl!" Naminé called from the sidewalk. "Long time no see!"

"What are you doing here? How'd you find me?"

Naminé dropped the rocks and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, I see. You're just gonna ask me questions and leave me standing on the sidewalk in the dark?"

"Right! I'll come down and get you," Olette whispered loudly.

"Take your time," said Naminé airily.

Olette scurried out her room. She stood frozen at the top of the staircase. Nearby was her parents' room. She could hear the loud snores of her father drift out of that room. She knew her dad would be asleep by now because he had to go to work early. But her mom was another story. Olette quickly, but quietly, hurried down the stairs. She hid behind a wall when she realized the TV set was on in the living room. She peeked into the room and saw her mom sitting on the couch, fast asleep. Olette tiptoed to the front door. She opened it up and pulled Naminé inside.

"Hey Ol-"

"Shhhh!" Olette cut Naminé off. She pointed over to where the living room was. Naminé nodded and pretended to zip her lips. They crept past the living room. They were doing good until Olette's face twitched. Naminé stared at her strangely. Then her eyes widened when she realized what was wrong with Olette.

"ACHOO!" Olette sneezed probably what was one of the loudest sneezes Naminé had ever heard. They both quickly glanced into the living room. That should have definitely woken her mother up. However, all Olette's mother did was groan and flop onto the couch still asleep. The two girls exchanged looks, then ran up the stairs and into Olette's room. Olette shut the door and turned to face her best friend.

Naminé had platinum blonde hair that shaped her pale face. She had pretty blue eyes to go along with her shiny hair. Tonight Naminé was wearing her favorite white dress with a pair of matching white sandals.

"Ollie! I missed you!" Naminé squealed as she captured Olette into a tight friendly hug.

"You know how I feel about that nickname," Olette grunted.

Naminé let go of her and smiled. "Tee hee! Sorry. It's been a while sweetheart."

Olette asked, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Well it's obvious," Naminé chuckled. "I came to see you."

Olette shook her head. "But **why** are you here?"

"That's simple." Naminé smiled even more and placed her hands on her hips once again. "I ran away."

"Ran away?" Olette stuttered. "As in ran away from home?"

"Duh!" Naminé scoffed with a flip of her hair.

"Aw, Naminé…" Olette groaned. "What did you expect to do when you actually got here?"

"I'm glad to see you're happy I came to visit you," Naminé hissed sarcastically.

"Trust me, I'm ecstatic to see you. But something tells me there's more to your visit," said Olette with a suspicious tone of voice.

"Isn't there always?" Naminé joked. "I came here to get you so we could…" She pulled a brochure out. "Go to Destiny Island together!"

There was an awkward silence in the room. "You're saying," Olette began, "that you want both of us to run away from Twilight Town and go take a vacation in Destiny Island?"

"Not just a vacation!" her blonde friend corrected. "But actually live in Destiny Island! Just imagine it, both of us living in the tropics. Doesn't that sound awesome?"

Olette smiled. "I've always wanted to go to Destiny Island."

"Then it's settled!"

"But how are we getting there?" questioned Olette.

"I've planned it all out. There's a cruise ship heading out to Destiny Island. And it's leaving Twilight Town. So I figured we could just be stowaways on the ship and get a free trip to Destiny Island. They have to carry some large boxes onto the ship by hand. We can just hide ourselves in those boxes," Naminé explained.

"You want us to become stowaways?"

Naminé nodded excitedly.

"Sounds like a plan," Olette agreed. "But I can't."

A crestfallen expression made its way onto Naminé's face. "Why not?" she whined. "Are you being a chicken? Come on! We used to talk about running away to Destiny Island when we were little!"

Olette grinned. She sighed, then explained her story to her friend. After several minutes, Naminé sat on Olette's bed, staring at her with raised eyebrows.

"You're telling me that you challenged a bunch of boys, just so you could get on their baseball team?" Naminé repeated.

Olette nodded lightly. "Pretty much."

Naminé chuckled and lied down on the bed. "I always knew you were headstrong, but this is so…dumb! Olette, why didn't you just join the softball team?"

"Because they're not the same thing!" Olette yelled, stomping around. She covered her mouth and stopped her rampage, in fear that it would wake up her parents.

"Heh heh heh. I can't believe you actually agreed to kiss that kid if you loose," Naminé snickered. She sat up and gave Olette a teasing look. "You must like him or something."

Olette's face turned red. "I DO NOT like Sora!" she argued.

Naminé tilted her head in curiosity. "Do you like anyone from your new school?" she questioned. Olette opened her mouth the retort, but was silenced for some reason. This made Naminé even more curious. She leaned over the edge of the bed with a flirty look in her eye. "Ooh! You do like someone don't ya?"

Olette scoffed. She slumped to the floor. "Of course not!" She let out another sneeze.

"Really?" Naminé sounded disappointed. "So there aren't any cute people in your school?"

"I never said that," Olette replied. "I don't think there are any though…" Suddenly she thought about the boys' baseball team's pitcher, Roxas. She remembered his smile from the game, when his cousin got hurt by the bat Rika threw.

"You're blushing Olette," Naminé informed.

"Huh?"

"So there is someone isn't there?" Naminé squealed. "Ooh! Tell me! Who do you like? WHO DO YOU LIKE?"

"No one!" Olette tried to cover up. She tried to get the image of Roxas out of her head.

Naminé pouted. "I find it unfair that you can't trust me, Naminé your best friend in the** whole entire world**, with your secrets." She flopped back down on the bed.

Olette flashed her a tiny smile. "I have more important things to worry about than boys, unlike **you**," she joked.

"I can't help that I'm irresistible," Naminé sighed as she stuck her nose in the air.

Olette rolled her eyes while smiling. They were both complete opposites from each other. Naminé had a thing for boys; Olette was obviously more into sports and school. And yet they both were the same. For some reason, Naminé loved baseball just as much as Olette. The reason how that happened, Olette will never know. Just by the way she looked, no one would have guessed that Naminé was even remotely into a kind of sport. Let alone, good at it! But it was true; Naminé was probably one of the best shortstops Olette knew. Actually, besides Sora, Naminé was the only shortstop she knew.

Naminé rolled off the bed and landed next to Olette. She looked up at her with a mischievous grin. "I guess since you won't run away to Destiny Island with me until you beat the boys, I'll just have to help you beat them," Naminé sighed melodramatically.

Olette suddenly became shocked. "You mean it?"

"Well, of course I do!" Naminé sassed. "I mean, you're never gonna win without me anyway. So rather than humiliating yourself, like you always do, I'll help you to regain your dignity."

Olette frowned. "Gee. Thanks."

"No problem!" Naminé chirped, slapping Olette on the back. "Besides," she whispered in a more teasing tone. "I want to see if this Sora guy is worthy kissing material."

"Say what?" Olette snapped.

"Well, it is your first kiss," Naminé said, pretending to be concerned. "I don't want you throwing it away." She playfully poked Olette in the arm.

Olette narrowed her eyes even more. "You know, one of these days I'm gonna – a-achoo!" Olette sneezed before she could finish her threat.

"That's like the zillionth time you've sneezed," Naminé cringed. "Are you sick or something?"

"Not that I know of," Olette groaned as she wiped her nose. "It's not like I did anything to get myself sick."

"Yep," Naminé agreed. "We're both smarter than that. That's why I took shelter when it rained. So I wouldn't get sick. Only an idiot would have walked through the rain!" Naminé crossed her arms and nodded her head, making sure she looked like she knew what she was talking about.

Olette smiled embarrassingly. "Yeah…only an idiot."

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	5. Chapter 5

"Olette! Wake up!" a voice in the distance demanded. "Get your butt out of bed now young lady!"

"Is that you God…?" Olette murmured with a scraggly voice and a burning throat. Her eyes slowly opened up, allowing her to stare into a light. The light, however, was not a light she was supposed to go to. It was the light seeping into her room through her windows.

The voice demanded again, "Out of bed now!"

The loud voice happened to be the demanding voice of her mother. Olette turned her head to glance at her door. Her mother had poked her head into the room, looking a tad bit irritated. "You're going to be late to school if you don't get up," her mom informed.

"Say what…?" Olette looked at her clock. It was true. She would never make it to school if she didn't get up at that instant. She was unable to react quickly, and sluggishly rolled out of bed. Olette was sweaty and felt extremely hot. It was hard for her to breath and her throat felt like it was on fire. She felt too light headed, and the sound of her mother's voice and all the light was making Olette's head throb.

"You don't look so well sweetie," her mother said, sounding worried now. She went up to her daughter and placed her hand on her forehead. "Your face is red and you're temperature is high. I think you should stay home today."

"No!" Olette disagreed. Raising her voice made her throat hurt, which caused her to cough violently. "I…I can go to school. Really, I'm fine Mom." Olette tried to plaster a smile on her face, but it didn't turn out so well.

Her mom raised her eyebrows, eyeballing Olette suspiciously. "All right Olette," she agreed as she headed towards the door. "If you feel you can make it through the day, but don't come crying to me when you faint or something." Her mom exited the room.

"Faint. Yeah right," Olette coughed.

"She's right you know," Naminé spoke up as she poked her head out from underneath Olette's bed. "You don't look so good."

The sudden appearance startled Olette, and she yelped. Naminé made Olette jump into the air about a foot. Olette had completely forgotten that her friend paid her a visit last night, only to announce that she ran away from home. Olette did miss Naminé, and since she ran away from home Olette decided to let Naminé stay. She did feel bad for Naminé's parents though; they were probably worried sick about their daughter.

"Don't do that," Olette requested with a cough. "Why are you under my bed? Did you sleep there all night?"

"Well duh!" Naminé sassed. "I had no where else to sleep. And I didn't want your parents to find out I ran away from home. They'd only take me back." Naminé crawled out from under the bed and gave her friend a dramatic hug. "And I could never bare to part with you!"

Olette sneezed. "You're words are touching." She began coughing again.

Naminé mimicked Olette's mom's actions and placed her hand on Olette's forehead. "You're burning up sweetie. I really think you should stay home," Naminé ordered.

"No way," Olette said as she made her way over to her closet. "I can't. If I do then who's gonna play against the boys?"

"So you're telling me you're risking your health for a baseball game?" Naminé snapped.

Olette slowly nodded. "Yep."

"That's the Olette I've come to know and love!" Naminé chimed, a smiling reappearing on her face.

"You know, sometimes you really scare me," Olette murmured.

- x – x – x – x -

Olette groaned to herself, her headache worsening. She managed to get through half of the day in school. Along with her recent sickly state, she had to endure some teasing from all the boys that were on the baseball team. Every time she made her way past them they would give her kissy faces and makes comments about how cute her and Sora looked together. If Olette weren't sick, she would have knocked all their teeth out. She knew she would have to deal with this sort of thing when she agreed to Sora's challenge though. So she was willing to live with it. She just didn't know for how long.

Right now the hallways were empty. Olette tried to open up her locker, but her vision was blurry and she was unable to think straight. She rested against her locker, coughing violently once more. While coughing, she didn't hear the light footsteps coming towards her.

"Whoa. You don't look so good," a familiar voice said.

Olette opened her eyes, only to see Roxas standing in front of her looking a little concerned. Her eyes connected with his perfect blue ones. For a moment, Olette was unable to reply. When she finally got control of her thoughts she told him,

"I'm just a little under the weather."

"A little?" repeated Roxas. "You look like you're suffering! Why did you come to school if you're so sick?"

"Because…" Olette said through a cough. "I have a baseball game to finish."

Roxas stared at her. Then a small grin crept onto his face. "Talk about determination," he chuckled.

Olette opened her mouth to reply, but was quickly interrupted by a cough. She groaned some more as she rubbed her throbbing head. She didn't know how much more she could take.

"You sure you can play like that?" Roxas asked, the concern returning to his voice.

Olette stared back at him. She scowled and said, "I'm not about to let your cousin win."

Roxas gave her an amused smile that included a chuckle. "Something tells me you don't want to kiss him," he laughed.

"Now way!" Olette shook her head quickly. "I'm not going to waste my first kiss on him!"

Roxas went back to staring Olette down with his sparkling blue eyes. It made her kind of nervous, but she coughed to cover up. Not only did the violent coughing interrupt them, but so did a loud bubbly voice that chirped,

"Olette! Sweetie! I found you!"

Both Roxas and Olette turned to the direction the voice came from. Olette's eyes widened when she saw a blonde blur come dashing at her. The blur collided into her. Olette was trapped in a tight hug, courtesy of Naminé. Roxas only stared in amusement as Naminé continued embracing Olette.

"Ollie!" Naminé sang. "I came to see you! I finally found your school!"

"Naminé, what are you doing here?" asked Olette.

Naminé let go and stared at her friend with a pair of sassy eyes. "Didn't you hear me? I came to see you! Are you feeling better?" She placed her hand on Olette's forehead.

"I'm fine…really…" Olette lied.

Naminé wagged her finger at Olette. "You liar! You look like you got worse! You should come home right now!"

"Naminé, you shouldn't be here. You're not a student, remember?" Olette chided. She sneezed quickly. "If a teacher sees you they'll start asking questions."

"Um…" Roxas spoke up.

Naminé directed her attention to the boy. When her eyes landed on him she instantly gave him a smile. Not just any smile though. Olette recognized the smile Naminé was giving Roxas. It was her flirting smile. For a fraction of a second, Olette became annoyed with Naminé, but then she brushed it off.

"Hey there!" Naminé purred as she stuck her hand out for Roxas. "The name's Naminé. I'm the reason why Olette is still alive!"

Roxas quickly glanced back at Olette, unsure what to do.

Olette sighed, "She tends to say things like that."

He chuckled anxiously and shook Naminé's hand. "Hi. I'm Roxas. I'm guessing you're Olette's friend."

"You bet I am!" Naminé giggled. She hugged Olette again. "I came to visit Ollie, knowing she would refuse to admit she's sick. This stubborn girl just doesn't want to stay home so she can beat those mean boys at baseball!"

Olette rolled her eyes, slightly irritated with her friend on two accounts. The first being that Naminé was calling her Ollie just to annoy her. And the second reason was that because Naminé was unable to control her flirting. But Olette didn't exactly mention Roxas to her, so she couldn't blame her friend for anything. It's not like Olette liked Roxas anyway. Also, Olette wasn't in a hugging mood. Naminé, on the other hand, was giving hugs all over the place.

Roxas cocked his head. "So you know all about the baseball game?" he asked Naminé.

"Sure do," she replied. "In fact, I'm their new shortstop!"

"That's good for you, I guess," Roxas said, looking back at Olette.

Olette simply coughed as a response.

"Poor Ollie here is too sick to play. She just doesn't want to admit it," Naminé teased as she stretched out Olette's cheek.

"I can play!" Olette snapped. She was unable to escape from Naminé's grasp. "Just watch. I'll be able to beat the boys even while I'm sick!"

Olette and Naminé snipped at each other as Roxas watched. He finally interrupted their quarrel with a laugh.

"Good luck today you two," he fare welled with a wave. He walked down the hall away from both of them.

"We don't need luck!" Naminé called after, still grappling on to Olette.

When Roxas turned the corner Naminé quickly turned back to Olette. She gave her a mischievous grin. There was a certain look in her eye that made Olette frightened.

"What are you thinking?" Olette dared to ask.

"He's kind of cute," Naminé snickered. Olette could have sworn that for a moment she felt like punching Naminé. But she didn't have a reason to do that. But she felt angry at that comment. She simply ignored it and rolled her eyes at Naminé.

"Still obsessed with boys I see," Olette sighed. She shook her head to add a disappointed feel to her sigh.

"Come on Ollie! Don't tell me you don't think the same thing," teased Naminé as she poked Olette in the ribs.

Olette hesitated for a moment, unsure as to how to answer her friend. Her cheeks felt hot as she replied to her friend, "No idea. I really don't care, you know."

Naminé's grin got wider. She tightened her hug on Olette. "Well, then. If you don't like him, I'm gonna have him all to myself!" she giggled.

"You're gonna what?" Olette suddenly gasped. She quickly coughed to hide her shock.

"I wanted to make sure you don't like him," Naminé admitted. "You know, so I don't trespass on your territory. And since you don't like him I feel less guilty."

"Because…you like him…?" Olette inquired reluctantly.

Naminé nodded excitedly. "Maybe just a little!" She cackled lightly and tapped her fingertips together. "I will make him mine! I swear it!" She now began to cackle loudly. It scared Olette out just a tad bit.

"Heh…yeah…I **so** don't like Roxas…" Olette laughed. She was starting to regret not telling Naminé about him last night. But she wasn't exactly sure if she did like Roxas. She barely knew him after all. She did know, however, that he was a lot nicer than his cousin. Certainly not as annoying as him either. Olette also thought Roxas had nice eyes that went well with his perfect smile…

Olette slapped her forehead quickly, trying to stop thinking about it. However, slapping her forehead added to her headache. Olette groaned loudly with an irritated feel to her tone. Naminé stared at her strangely with raised eyebrows. Olette quickly flashed her a fake smile. Even though Naminé was her best friend, deep down Olette wanted to rip out her hair. Probably because Naminé liked Roxas. But why? Olette wasn't even sure if she did actually like Roxas! Was it a possibility? Could it be that Olette actually felt…jealous?

"What's wrong with you Ollie?" questioned Naminé.

"Absolutely nothing," Olette lied through clenched teeth.

- x – x – x – x -

"Who's this?" Yuffie asked as she pointed at Naminé.

All the girls huddle together in their dugout on the lot. Across the field was the boys' dugout, which is where they were at the moment. Olette had introduced Naminé to the other girls. She had no choice; Naminé waited for Olette after school. She ambushed her as she left the school campus. The girls studied Naminé, most likely all thinking the same thing. Naminé didn't look like someone who could play baseball. But that's what they all thought about Rika, and she actually caught the ball so…yeah.

"This is my best friend, Naminé," Olette introduced. Naminé smiled politely and waved.

"She's the famous shortstop?" Selphie asked with skepticism in her voice.

"You've all heard about me?" Naminé giggled, pretending to be embarrassed.

Olette smiled weakly. "She'll be the reason we'll win," she continued. She coughed lightly and rubbed her throat.

"Are you okay Olette?" Tifa asked. "You don't look well. You look kind of sick."

Fuu nodded in agreement. "Very sick," she muttered.

Olette waved to show them to ignore the constant coughing. "I'm all right. Anyway, Naminé will be our shortstop."

"At least we're filling up another position," Kairi said more loudly than what she had to. She couldn't hear herself though. Obviously because she had her music playing in her ears.

Naminé leaned over to Olette and whispered, "How can she hear us?"

Olette shrugged. She looked back at all the girls and smiled widely. "So, say hello to your new shortstop!" she exclaimed as she pointed at Naminé.

"Hello!" all the girls greeted.

"We are so totally gonna win!" Rika squealed.

"As long as you keep catching those baseballs, we'll be all right," Yuffie said to her.

The girls met up with the boys in the middle of the infield. Sora waltzed up to Olette with a smug look. His eyes darted to Naminé, who was standing next to Olette. All the boys standing behind Sora were ogling Naminé, practically drooling. Olette wasn't surprised. That happened a lot to Naminé.

"Who the heck is she?" Sora asked rudely.

"She," Olette spat, "is Naminé, our shortstop!"

Naminé posed cutely, flashing a peace sign at the boys. "Hey there boys!" she chirped with a smile.

The boys stared even more at her, now blushing intensely. Olette rolled her eyes and directed her attention back to Sora.

_Now is the perfect moment to punch him…Mwa ha ha!_

Olette reluctantly ignored that thought and continued glaring at Sora.

"She can't be on your team," he complained. "Your deadline was up."

"You never said I couldn't recruit anymore players," Olette snarled.

"Well…" Sora's voice trailed off. He turned his back on Olette ad stormed off towards his dugout. Roxas watched him, then turned to Olette.

"I guess that means fine," Roxas said. Olette nodded nervously. Both teams headed towards their own dugouts. The girls were once again huddle together. Olette sneezed and began coughing. Her status actually got worse through the day. Everything around her was spinning, and she could barely keep herself standing.

"So…" Olette wheezed. She grabbed her head and sighed heavily.

"Ollie?" Naminé said.

"I'm…fine," she responded. "We're batting first. Kairi?"

She didn't reply. Kairi just stood where she was, tapping her foot in rhythm to the music she was listening to.

"Kairi!"

"Hm?" She pulled the headphone out.

"Are you going to bat first?" Olette asked as she tried to suppress a cough.

"Of course," Kairi chirped. She skipped over to the bats and picked one up.

The girls' turn went by quickly, only because Olette was playing poorly today. It was because of her current condition that she was the last one to strike out. So after several batters, and three outs, the girls were now switching position with the boys. Olette's teamed managed to get four points. They now had six points while the boys only had four.

As Olette made her way out of the dugout she passed by Sora. When she was close enough to him, Sora gave her a smug grin and said, "Can't wait for that kiss _Ollie_." He walked away, chortling loudly to himself. Olette came to an abrupt halt. A sudden burst of anger completely replaced her illness. Her hands bundled up into tight fists. Olette was peeved that Sora dared mock her. She was even more upset that he had actually used her forbidden nickname.

She let a weak smirk appear on her face. _Oh yeah. He's gonna pay._

She headed over to the dugout where she met up with the other girls. They looked at her, waiting for words of encouragement. But none came. Instead they got to listen to Olette violently cough for a whole minute. She groaned and teetered to one side. After playing baseball for only a half hour, Olette felt worse than when she woke up. She could barely think straight, and she just wanted to take a long nap…

"Olette?" Rika's voice squeaked in the distance. Olette forced herself back to the dugout and tried to stay with them.

"I'm…fine…really guys…" Olette said through a series of coughs. Now she had begun shivering and sweating. Still, Olette refused to quit playing.

"No you're not!" Selphie snapped. "Olette, you've turned completely pale! You can't stop coughing, you're drenched in sweat! And what's with all the shivering?"

Olette tried to stop trembling and gave her team a serious look, to let them know she was annoyed with their worries. "I'm just a little cold, okay?"

Almost at once, Olette coughed. This time she coughed so violently her throat felt like someone scratched at it with sharp nails. Naminé hurried up to her to stop Olette from completely falling to one side.

"Do you want me to take you home sweetie?" Naminé whispered sincerely.

Olette shook her head. She pushed her best friend away. "We're going out there and playing some baseball," Olette coughed. "And I'm coming with you."

The girls exchanged skeptical looks with each other. They had a feeling this could only end badly. Olette marched out to the pitcher's mound, a baseball ready in her hands. The world around her was spinning, and the shouts and cheers of her friends were distant. The holler of the boys were just as far away, and Olette could barely make out who had walked up to the home plate with a bat in his hands. Olette aimed the ball at Roxas with a weak arm. It ached as she pulled her arm back. She flung her arm forward and tossed the ball. It didn't even make it to the home plate. It rolled to Roxas' feet.

The boys began cackling from the dugout. Olette was too dizzy to shout at them. Her breathing grew heavy. Tifa threw the ball back at her. Olette fumbled with it for a moment. She placed the ball carefully in her hand and tried to aim the ball perfectly at Roxas. Something was wrong though. The noise all around her was slowly disappearing, until there was nothing but silence. Everything around her continued spinning, but this time the world around her was also growing dark…

Olette crashed to the ground, slipping into unconsciousness. All the girls yelped and gasped. The boys went quiet in the dugout. Roxas tossed the bat aside ran over to the brunette girl along with Tifa and the rest of the girls on the team.

"Olette!" Naminé screamed as she reached her friend before anyone else. She knelt down next to Olette and shook her. Olette didn't respond. Naminé gasped as her hands shot to her mouth.

Roxas crouched down next to Naminé and hovered over Olette. He studied the unconscious girl for a minute as all the girls surrounded him and Olette. The boys joined them around the pitcher's mound, waiting intently. "She's still breathing," Roxas reported. There was a relieved gasp shared among the girls. "She looks like she just passed out."

Roxas gently scooped Olette into his arms and carried her back to the girls' dugout. She groaned slightly as her head bobbed back and forth. The girls trailed after Roxas and followed him into the dugout. He lay her down on a bench. The girls went back to crowding Olette.

"What are we going to do now?" Kairi questioned.

Tifa crossed her arms. "I knew she was too sick to play!"

"Stubborn girl," Fuu sighed.

"Oh Olette! I told you to stay home!" Naminé cried as she shook her head. She took a seat next to Olette. She placed her hand on Olette's forehead. She had burned up more since this morning.

"Well well," Sora sniggered as he walked into the girls' dugout. "Looks to me you girls are just gonna have to forfeit, seeing as how your pitcher can't even play."

Roxas shot his cousin an annoyed scowl.

"That's not fair!" Yuffie snarled. "We didn't make you forfeit when you had to go home early yesterday! At least Olette **has** a reason not to play today!"

The girls shouted in agreement. The boys disagreed with them however.

"It's not our fault that she got sick!" Riku snapped.

"It wasn't our fault when stupid over there had to go home either!" Selphie hissed.

Sora pouted. "Hey."

All the yelling made Olette groan from the bench. Everyone's attention was directed to her. She didn't wake up though. She remained unconscious on the bench.

"She needs to get home," Roxas said.

"I guess I can take her," Naminé sighed. She leaned over Olette, still inspecting her.

"I can," Roxas suggested. "You should stay with the girls so they can explain the rules to you."

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "Okay…but I think it would make more sense if **I** took her," she said. "After all, I know where she lives."

Roxas walked over to Olette. "I think I can manage."

Naminé sighed and stared back at the other girls. "I guess. Olette didn't give me the whole story when she explained to me what was going on."

Selphie, Yuffie, and Kairi posed proudly for the blonde. "Then you've come to the right place!" Selphie chimed.

Roxas picked up Olette and carried her in his arms.

"I don't believe it," Seifer complained. "We're gonna have to continue this game another day _again_."

"It can't be helped," Roxas said, brushing past him with Olette in his arms. "She's too sick to play."

The whole time, Sora was giving his cousin a dark look as he watched Roxas leave the lot with the girl in his arms.

- x – x – x – x -

Olette quickly looked around. But all she could see was darkness. "Hello?" she called. Her voice echoed in the distance. "Anybody there?" No reply. She sighed and took a step forward. She stopped in her tracks and stared up in horror. Hovering above her was a gigantic version of Sora's head. He started making kissy faces at her. "No!" Olette barked. She tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground. She shielded her face with her arms. "I don't want to kiss a moron!"

"Not a moron…" she groaned. She stirred lightly on a soft squishy something.

"Not a what now?" a comforting voice asked.

Her eyes shot open. Momentarily blinded, Olette was in a state of confusion. The last thing she remembered was the sounds of a baseball game and a baseball in her hand. And then nothing. Once her eyes adapted to the sudden light Olette saw a pair of blue orbs she mistook for Naminé's.

"What happened?" Olette asked as she closed her eyes again.

"You passed out," a voice that definitely **did not** belong to Naminé answered.

Olette opened her eyes quickly again. She craned her neck and stared into the face of Roxas. She felt her already warm face grow hotter. After a moment she realized she was in her living room with Roxas. Alone. She was sprawled on her couch with Roxas hovering above her. **Alone.**

_What the heck am I doing with him in my living room? ALONE?_

"What the heck am I doing in my living room with you alone?" Olette echoed her very thoughts. She grabbed her throat and started rubbing it. It was still sore.

Roxas gave her a small, amused smile. "I had to bring you home. Naminé stayed with the girls so they could give her all the details on the game."

"I…I see…" Olette peeled her eyes away from Roxas. She wasn't sure how they got inside or how Roxas even found her house in the first place. But she didn't feel like asking. "Wait. Did you say I passed out?" She forced herself to look back at him.

He nodded. "Yeah. You just kind of collapsed. You didn't wake up either." He chuckled lightly. "Which is a surprise because Naminé was shaking you _a lot_."

Olette laughed anxiously. She became even more nervous when Roxas suddenly brushed her bangs out of her face and placed his hand on her forehead.

_HOLY MOLY!_

"Well, it doesn't seem like your temperature has changed," Roxas informed, keeping his hand on her forehead. Olette just laughed again, too dizzy and anxious to act normal. "Is there anything you want?"

"Soup would be nice!" Olette practically shouted.

Roxas gazed at Olette for a while longer, before removing his hand from her forehead and nodding. He smiled and said, "I'll heat up some of that instant soup for you." He got up and headed into the kitchen. Olette sighed and flipped onto her side. She noticed that she was covered in a warm blanket. Roxas had been kind enough to cover Olette up when he brought her inside. Olette brought her hand to her face as she felt herself blush even more.

_And I thought I could play too…_

An image of Sora's smug face popped into her head. She scowled. She imagined that he must have made fun of her when she fainted. Olette suddenly felt like an idiot when she remembered her mother's warning, _"If you feel you can make it through the day, but don't come crying to me when you faint or something." _This caused Olette to groan as Roxas came back into the room, a cup of steaming soup in his hands.

"You okay?" he asked strangely. Olette just nodded as she stared at the soup.

_I hope he doesn't feed it to me…_

Roxas held the cup out for Olette. "Here. You'll feel better once you eat this," he said.

She sighed out of relief and took the soup from him. Once she started gobbling down the soup, Roxas left the room again. Even though she wasn't feeling well, Olette was able to completely finish the soup. She burped and plopped back down on the couch. She sighed happily and closed her eyes. Something damp and warm fell on her forehead. She opened her eyes and saw Roxas holding something to her head. Her hand shot up to her forehead where she felt Roxas' hand and a warm cloth.

"It'll help you," Roxas said, smiling.

Olette smiled back. It took her a moment before she realized her hand was still touching Roxas'. She laughed nervously again and quickly removed her hand. She allowed herself to close her eyes again and absorb the warmth of the cloth. Olette felt like Roxas was piercing a gaze into her, but tried not to let it affect her. He was still pressing the cloth to her forehead.

"Thanks a lot Roxas," she finally whispered.

"It's no problem," he replied.

"I feel much better," Olette sighed dreamily. "Now that you're around."

For a moment, she thought she felt his hand stiffen. She didn't even realize how her words sounded. Their moment was interrupted by a noise from the front door.

"Anybody home?" Olette's mother called.

"HOLY MOLY IT'S MY MOM!" Olette gasped as she quickly sat up, causing Roxas to jump back. The last thing Olette wanted was her mother to find her alone in the house with a boy. Before she had a chance to hide Roxas, however, her mom came into the living room. She stopped to stare at Olette and Roxas.

"Hello?" she greeted, looking straight at Roxas. He smiled and gave her a small wave.

"I DIDN'T FEEL WELL IS ALL!" Olette panicked.

Her mom smiled sweetly at Roxas. "Where you taking care of my daughter while she was sick?" she giggled.

Roxas nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Olette didn't know how to react and let herself lie back down with a loud _thump_. Her mom giggled as she walked past the couch.

"Told you you were gonna faint," her mom teased. Olette's face grew a darker shade of crimson as Roxas chuckled at her mom's joke.

He looked back down at her, locking her eyes with his. "I guess I should go then," Roxas said.

Olette nodded reluctantly. "Okay then."

Roxas headed out the room. Before he left Olette forced herself to call back, "Roxas!"

He stopped at the entranceway. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Um…th–thank you for…well…you know…helping me to get better," she said nervously.

Roxas smiled more, his eyes sparkling. "It was my pleasure," he replied. With that said, he left the room. Olette heard the front door shut. She sighed and sat up, still staring at the entranceway. A smile couldn't help but creep its way onto her face

"It was his pleasure…"

"He's a cute one," Olette's mother suddenly giggled from behind her. She was leaning over the couch next to her daughter. Olette yelped, as her mom took her by surprise.

"What was that _mother_?" Olette snarled through clenched teeth.

"What?" her mom laughed. "He **is** a cute one."

Her mother continued laughing as she headed into the kitchen. Olette shook her head. Not only did she not get to play baseball today, but now her mother was never going to let her live this down. Ever.

"Hey Olette?" her mother called from the kitchen. "It's the weirdest thing. Most of our food is gone. And I just refilled this refrigerator yesterday. It's almost like we have a hungry ghost in this house."

Olette frowned. _Naminé…_

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x –

_**A/N – Okay, I know what you're all thinking. Why the heck haven't I updated in forever. Simple really. I forgot about this story. But then I remembered and wrote this chapter. I'm a little upset with it because I didn't put a lot of baseball. It was mostly just Olette feeling crummy. And her and Roxas sharing awkward moments! I should put more of those. But on the baseball field! Ooh, now that would be funny. Anyway, for those of you who read my "10 Steps To Being A Good Bodyguard" I might just delete it. I'm having HUGE writer's block issues with that story! Of course, I might not delete it if someone gives me a good idea. –wink wink–**_

_**Anyhoo, the real reason as to why I'm writing this author's note: PLEASE REVIEW! I love all your guys' nice reviews. They motivate me and make me want to continue with this story. So, thank you to all who took the time to review. Also, please continue reviewing! I like reading the reviews you guys leave me. I'll try to update faster!**_


	6. Chapter 6

Olette lay quietly in her bed, her eyes shut tight. Her fever had gone down ever so slightly that day. She still couldn't believe that she woke up only to find herself in her living room alone with Roxas. Now it was night, and Olette was trying desperately to go to sleep. Her attempt at sleeping was disrupted by a sudden tapping at her window. Olette quickly opened her eyes. She peeked from under her covers and gazed at her window. The ominous tapping continued. Olette yelped and pulled her blanket over her head. It was dark, and the tapping only made Olette more scared.

_What's wrong with me? There are no such things as monsters!_

Olette quickly snuck another glance at her window as the tapping continued.

_But there are such things as crazy serial killers!_

Olette's breathing quickened as she slowly crawled out of bed. She grabbed the baseball bat near her closet and tiptoed over to her window. She drew back the curtains and yelped once more. Naminé was sitting outside her window, barely on the ledge. Olette thrust the window opened and her blonde friend came hurtling through the window. She crashed to the floor more loudly than what Olette had wanted.

"Naminé!" the brunette snapped, her heart still racing. "What the heck were you doing outside my window?"

_You had me worried that there was a serial killer after me!_

Naminé shook her head. She looked up at Olette with a pout. "I have nowhere else to sleep, _remember_?"

Olette sighed, and then nodded. "So then why didn't you throw pebbles again?"

"Because," Naminé said, getting up. "I looked through the window and saw that your mom was still awake."

"How did you get up to my window then?" Olette asked. She walked over to her window and shut it closed again.

"I climbed up a pipe," Naminé answered honestly as she walked over to Olette's closet. She pulled out an extra blanket. She headed back over to Olette's bed and climbed underneath it. Olette couldn't help but feel awkward.

"Wouldn't you be more comfortable sleeping in the closet?" she asked, climbing back into bed.

"It's not a walk in closet," Naminé spoke up from underneath the bed. "There's more space under here than there is in that closet of yours!"

Olette disregarded that remark and pulled the covers back over her head. After a long moment of pure silence, Naminé broke it.

"Are you feeling any better?"

Olette replied, "A little."

"Thanks to Roxas huh?" Naminé muttered. She sounded almost annoyed. Olette threw the covers off her quickly, feeling shocked and embarrassed. She leaned over the edge of her bed and looked underneath it. The first thing she saw was a bundle of gold. It happened to be Naminé's hair, sprawled over the floor.

"How did you know about that?" Olette asked with a crack to her voice.

Naminé turned her head and faced her friend from underneath the bed. She furrowed her brow. "I was there when he took you home, duh."

Olette frowned. "Are you mad at me?" she demanded.

"No," Naminé laughed sarcastically as she flipped over on her side, no longer looking at Olette. "Why would I be mad? You just lied to me about liking Roxas."

Olette gasped offensively. She felt it was silly that Naminé was mad at her because of a boy. "I don't like Roxas! I wasn't lying!" Olette defended. "Why would you think that?"

"Because," Naminé said in barely a whisper, "he carried you all the way home."

"Naminé, you're being silly," Olette giggled. "You have nothing to worry about."

Naminé flipped back around and stared at Olette with skeptical eyes. "Are you positive you don't like him?" she asked sincerely.

Olette hesitated. After she thought about it she realized that she liked certain attributes about the baseball team's pitcher. She liked he was sweet and that he had a nice smile. It didn't mean she liked **him** like that…right? If that was true she wondered why she blushed every time she thought about Roxas. Or why she was even thinking about him in the first place.

After a moment, Olette finally nodded. She gave her best friend a small smile. "I'm positive."

Naminé grinned and went back to being her cheery self. "Okay then!" She stretched under the bed. "The boys said we'd continue the second inning when you get better."

"I think I can play tomorrow," Olette said as she closed her eyes to go to sleep.

"You better hope so," Naminé laughed from underneath the bed. "That Sora guy is getting impatient for his kiss, as he told me after Roxas took you home."

Olette's eyes shot open once more. She quickly sat up in her bed and shouted, "WHAT?"

- x – x – x – x -

Olette walked into her school. She specifically ordered Naminé to stay home until the afternoon, when she was supposed to meet the other girls in the lot to finish the game.

"And don't eat all of our food when we're gone!" Olette ordered. "My mom and dad noticed that half of our food was gone."

Naminé pouted. "But Ollie! I get hungry easily!"

Olette wagged her finger at her blonde friend. "No eating all our food! Got it?" she warned with a raised eyebrow.

Naminé continued pouting, but nodded. "Yeah, I got it," she sighed.

Olette made her way to her locker, knowing that Naminé wasn't going to listen to her and was going to eat all the food she could get her hands on anyway. She sighed at the thought while opening her locker. She pulled out the books she needed and shut her locker closed. Olette jumped when she noticed two people standing behind her.

"Didn't mean to scare you," the taller of the two apologized.

"It's okay," Olette breathed. She gave the two people a smile. "It's…Pence and Hayner right?"

Pence nodded. "Yep."

Olette leaned against her locker. "What do you two need?" she questioned.

"Nothing," Hayner said. "We actually wanted to apologize for the way our captain was toward you."

Olette smiled. "That's sweet," she chuckled. "But it's fine. He's just an idiot." She quickly covered her mouth when she realized she insulted Sora in front of his teammates. They, however, smiled at her joke.

"He sure is," Pence agreed quietly.

"Anyway, we wanted to make it up to you," Hayner continued.

"We could take you for ice cream after school," Pence suggested.

Olette's smile disappeared. "But then we'll be late for the game."

"Don't worry," Hayner said. "Everyone of the boys is going to be late today anyway."

"Why?" Olette asked.

Pence and Hayner quickly looked at each other. They seemed to hesitate for a moment. Pence looked back at Olette and shrugged.

She laughed. "Okay then, I'll go if it means I get free ice cream out of it."

Hayner and Pence sighed out of relief.

"Then we'll see you after school," Hayner called as the ball rang and Olette took off running. She waved at them over her shoulder.

Pence looked at Hayner with a disapproving look. "Do we really have to do this?" he asked. "She seems nice."

Hayner nodded slowly. "I don't want to do this to her either. But if we don't Sora will blackmail us with those pictures he has of us from the Christmas party…" Hayner cringed at the thought.

Pence shuddered as well. "I don't want that to happen!"

"Then we have to do this," Hayner sighed. The two boys headed towards their class, feeling equally guilty.

- x – x – x – x -

Olette sat at the back of her last period class, watching the clock tick away the remainder of the school day. She just wanted to get the baseball game over with. They had started the game days ago, and they were still in the second inning. Finally, the bell rang and Olette dashed out the front door. Se stopped in her tracks when she remembered she was going for ice cream with Pence and Hayner. She stopped by her locker, only to be approached by Selphie.

"Let's go to the lot together Olette," Selphie chimed, flinging her backpack over her shoulder.

Olette shook her head. "Can't. I have something I need to do first."

Selphie's face fell. "Oh, all right then," she sighed. "I'll see you at the lot when you get there." She left Olette alone at her locker. She felt bad but shook it off and went to go find Hayner and Pence. Olette didn't have to go far. She saw the two boys waiting for her in front of the school.

"There you are," Hayner sighed, sounding more anxious than he did that morning.

"Shall we go get ice cream?" Olette chirped.

Pence and Hayner nodded, looking a bit deadpan. They led Olette away from the school. They took a walk through Twilight Town. She looked around, not sure where they were. Olette didn't take the time to explore her new home. She was too upset when they moved to actually take a look around. The boys led her through a wide alley.

"Hey, do you guys know where you're going?" she spoke up when she noticed they stopped in the middle of the alley.

Pence and Hayner gave each other guilty looks. They looked back at Olette with apologetic eyes.

"We didn't want to do this Olette," Hayner said. Pence nodded.

Olette tilted her head. "What are you guys–"

She saw shadows jump up from out of nowhere. She was tackled to the ground as several people jumped on her. She heard familiar voices shout orders at each other.

"Riku, were did you put that rope?"

"Somebody grab her so she doesn't make a run for it!"

"Seifer, stop her!"

Olette attempted to jump to her feet, but one of the boys on the baseball team wrapped their arms around her and hoisted her up. She was turned upside down as Seifer held her up by her ankles.

"You're lucky I'm not wearing a skirt or I would kick your butt!" the girl yelled as she struggled against the boy holding her.

"Quit it!" Seifer grunted, tightening his hold on her ankles.

"What's going on?" Olette snarled as she flailed her arms around. She tried to kick Seifer in the face with her feet, but he had a strong hold on her legs now. She was staring at most of the boys on the baseball team upside down.

"I didn't think this was gonna work, ya know," Rai laughed.

"Told you it would!" Tidus bragged.

Olette tried to look up at Pence and Hayner. "I can't believe you two tricked me!" she hissed, feeling more angry than hurt. Hayner and Pence gave her sad expressions. She noticed that not all the boys had ambushed her in the alley. Roxas was nowhere to be found. A shadow loomed over Olette. She looked up only to see the smirking face of Sora.

"What do you think you're doing?" Olette demanded.

Sora knelt down so that he was staring directly at Olette's upside down face. "Right now you girls are actually beating us, so we're going to play dirty," he snickered. "You're not going to make it to your game today." He stood up with crossed arms, still smirking.

"I don't get your plan," Olette said icily.

"If you don't show up, your team will think you chickened out. Which means that they'll have no choice but to forfeit," Sora explained.

"You conniving little sneak!" Olette snapped as she began flailing her arms around. She almost knocked Seifer off balance.

"Riku, will you do us the honor of tying her up?" Sora asked with laughter in his voice.

Riku willingly obliged and stepped forward away from the group with a bundle of thick rope in his hands. Seifer quickly flipped Olette upright and held her in place. It took a few minutes to completely tie her down. It wasn't easy, considering she kept thrashing about and actually managed to kick Riku in the gut. But in the end Olette was in the middle of the alleyway tied up from head to toe with most of the baseball team surrounding her.

"Where the heck is Roxas?" Olette asked rudely. She struggled against her ropes.

"We didn't tell him about this plan," Sora scoffed. "That little goody-two-shoes wouldn't have agreed with this plan of ours."

Olette frowned up at Sora, giving up the attempt to break free from the ropes that bound her. "So what are you going to do now? Just leave me here?" she barked.

Sora shook his head while laughing rudely. "No way! We don't want someone to find you and untie you," he said. "We're going to leave you where no one can find you." With this said, he gave Olette another smirk.

She raised an eyebrow. "And where would that be genius?"

"Ever heard of that abandoned mansion?" Sora sniggered. He crossed his arms and circled Olette.

She gasped. "That haunted one?"

Sora nodded, laughing more. "You'll be enjoying that lovely mansion by yourself."

"YOU JERK! UNTIE ME THIS INSTANT!" Olette went back to struggling against her ropes.

Sora snapped his fingers. Seifer grabbed Olette and threw her over his shoulders. They all ran down the alley, Olette shouting insults all the while.

"You idiot! You'll never get away with this!" Olette screeched as they made their ways into the woods.

"What are you talking about?" Sora cackled. "This plan is brilliant!"

"It's utterly stupid because **you** came up with it!" Olette hissed.

Sora pouted. "Is that how you treat the boy you're going to kiss?" he teased. They stopped in front of the mansion. Olette was still trying to kick Seifer.

"I wouldn't kiss you IF YOU WERE THE LAST GUY ON EARTH!" she screamed, still squirming around.

Sora just shook his head and sighed, "We had a deal, and you can't go back on your word."

"But you're cheating!" Olette snarled as they walked past the gate. The boys stopped in front of the door, staring at it.

"I'm not opening it," Tidus whimpered. "You do it Pence!"

"What? I'm not even in agreement with this plan!" Pence defended. "Go on Hayner. You open the door."

Hayner shook his head. "No way!"

"You big babies!" Sora snarled. He walked up to the door. He hesitated for a moment, but then pulled it open. It opened with a loud creak. He pointed inside. "Throw her in!"

Seifer walked up to Sora's side. Before he threw Olette into the house, Sora stuffed a cloth into her mouth, gagging her.

"Don't want people to hear you shouting for help," the captain of the baseball team laughed. Olette yelled muffled insults through the cloth at him. Seifer tossed her into the mansion. She rolled onto her back in time to see Sora and the boys laughing at her. "Have a nice time in the dark!" Sora cackled lightly as he shut the door.

Olette was enveloped in darkness. Very little light managed to seep into the house through cracks in the roof. The girl began kicking her feet against the floor, hoping it would do something. After a few minutes of this, she gave up and went on to another plan. Olette started rolling around like she was set on fire. The ropes didn't come undone. She only ended up rolling into a broken and splintered table. She crawled back to the middle of the room and flipped back onto her back, now covered in cobwebs and dust. She groaned and closed her eyes. She was going to lose the game, all because her team would think she chickened out.

_Sora has reached an all time new low!_

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x -

_**A/N – Sora, that fiend! Ha ha, I really did make him a total jerk. Oh well, it fits better with my story than nice Sora. I actually came up with this idea at the last minute. I was going to do something else, but this idea seemed MUCH better. Hmm, would this be considered a cliffhanger? If it is then, HA I LAUGH AT YOUR MISERY! Nah, I could never do that. You guys are my wonderful loyal readers, why would I ever laugh at you? Aw man, another chapter without baseball! I think I'm loosing my touch. Don't worry people, I promise there will be baseball in the next chapter! Wow, I just realized this is probably the fastest I've updated this story. But I just love you guys that much! So, how will Olette get herself untied? And if she does, what on earth is she going to do to Sora? Boy, I'd hate to be Sora when that happens. Ha, so anyway please review again! They're much appreciated.**_

_**Being the bored little person I am, and because I want to be nice and make up for leaving you guys at a cliffhanger, I'm going to do review replies to those of you who reviewed my last chapter.**_

_**Sum-Chan: Hee, I love the kiddy-ness in the story as well. I thought "Holy moly" sounded funny so I thought I'd make Olette say that. And I guess Namine is sort of funny, eating all of Olette's food! Ha, anyway I feel very happy that my story is the one you look out for in your alerts. Keep on reviewing!**_

_**Nyanooman: Thank you! I try to come up with creative Roxettes. Ha, I think Sora is definitely getting his butt kicked after what he just did! Thanks for the review!**_

_**Toxo: Thank you for reviewing! I'm sorry I didn't put any baseball in this chapter either, but I promise there will be some in the next chapter. I hope my story will keep making you laugh!**_

_**Bexmar: Oh my gosh, that was the longest review I've ever gotten! Ha ha! But I do appreciate it! I'm not sure how I forgot about this story myself. It just sort of happened. Hmm, how WILL Namine affect Olette and Roxas' relationship? You'll just have to wait! Thanks for all your reviews!**_

_**- d a y j u a n a: Yay! Cookies for me! I like those Roxette moments too, even if they are awkward and mushy! It just makes the world go round, right? So here's an update for you! Thank you for the review!**_

_**Inspire-Illuminate: I'm glad it was adorable. I was going for that, but I was afraid it was too awkward. Glad it wasn't though! Hee, I'm glad you thought "not a moron" was funny. I was hoping someone would! Yes! LONG LIVE ROXETTE! Thanks for reviewing! Hope you'll keep it up!**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N – I'm afraid I have to confess something. I am the hugest retard on the face of the planet. Remember Rika? As it turns out…her name is Rikku! How the heck did I get Rika from Rikku? HOW? I could have sworn they called her Rika in KH2! When I discovered this I shouted at myself and slapped myself for making such a mistake! **_**–bangs head on desk–**_** I didn't want to do this, but from now on **_**Rika**_** will be called **_**Rikku**_**. I don't like this because it's in the middle of the story and she's been called Rika up until now, but I'd rather be correct. So now Rika is going to be called Rikku from now on. My apologies for making such a mistake.**

- x – x – x – x -

Roxas walked out of the school. Once outside, he stretched and craned his neck towards the sky. Then he saw something from the corner of his eye. He saw Hayner and Pence leading Olette away from their school while she was saying something happily about ice cream. Roxas raised an eyebrow. All of this was suspicious to him because they were going to opposite way from the lot. Hayner and Pence also looked guilty. Roxas also figured they were going to be late to the game, and he knew Olette was too determined to be late to the game.

Roxas hid behind a tree and continued watching the three of them. They all turned the corner and walked out of his sight. He was about to come out of hiding when he saw his cousin walk out with most of the baseball team following him. Sora pointed down the sidewalk, the same direction Pence and Hayner took Olette. The boys nodded and dashed down the sidewalk, trailing after Sora.

Roxas poked his head out from behind the tree. "Suspicious much?" He walked out from behind the tree and got ready to follow them.

"Hey Roxas!" Kairi chirped as she raced down the stairs that led to the school. Roxas sighed as the girl made her way up to him. "What are you still doing here?" she asked. "Shouldn't you be at the lot with the others?"

Roxas looked back over his shoulder to where he had been spying on his team. "Yeah…all right, let's go."

Kairi and Roxas stepped onto the lot after a short walk from their high school. All the girls were already out on the lot, warming up before the game started. All the girls except Olette that is.

"Hey Kairi! Where's Olette?" Yuffie called when she noticed their arrival.

"She's not here yet?" Kairi inquired, fiddling with her iPod.

"So she's not with you?" Tifa interjected.

"Like, where are all the boys?" Rikku squeaked as she continued stretching with Selphie.

"They're all late!" said Selphie.

"Very late," Fuu agreed quietly.

Kairi looked around the baseball field to see if anyone else was missing. "It doesn't look like Naminé is here yet either."

"Check again," Yuffie corrected. She pointed over to the fence. Naminé was running towards the lot in the distance. She jumped over the fence and landed on the other side on all fours. She rushed up to Kairi's and Roxas' side. She placed her hands on her knees and kept gasping for breath.

"S-Sorry I'm late," the blonde shortstop wheezed. "I had a hard time getting out of the house. Olette's mom came home early!"

"You're not the only one who's late," Roxas spoke up. "My whole team isn't even here yet. Apparently Olette is late too."

"What?" Naminé gasped. She quickly straightened and searched her surroundings. "That doesn't sound like Olette! What could have happened to her?"

Roxas suddenly remembered Hayner and Pence leading Olette away from the school. The sudden suspicion returned to him.

"I'll be right back ladies," Roxas said as he departed from the girls and ran out of the lot.

He ran back to their high school. He stopped near the tree he was hiding behind to spy on his team. Roxas found the road Hayner and Pence took and rushed off. He had only been running for a minute when he saw his cousin walking down the sidewalk with the team, all of them snickering to each other. The team gasped simultaneously and came to a sudden halt when they saw Roxas standing in front of them, arms crossed.

"Why do you guys look guilty?" Roxas asked slowly, suspicion obvious in his voice.

"We didn't do anything!" Tidus yelped all too quickly. Roxas raised an eyebrow.

Sora moved strands of hair out of his face and flashed his cousin a smile. "Not to worry Roxas, we didn't do anything. Shouldn't you be at the lot?" Sora asked questions of his own.

Roxas stood silent, staring Sora down. His cousin smirked to himself and stepped forward.

"Now if you mind, we have a game to play," the spiky-haired brunette laughed. He shoved past Roxas and went on his way towards the baseball field. The other boys followed Sora obediently. Roxas knew something was wrong, but sighed to himself and turned to follow the boys. He noticed Hayner and Pence lagged behind.

Roxas looked over his shoulder and called to them, "Hurry up you two!"

"You go on ahead," Hayner shouted back. "We'll catch up!"

Roxas shrugged and chased after the other boys. Pence turned back to Hayner, looking a bit confused.

"Your conscience got to you too huh?" Pence mumbled.

Hayner nodded.

"So the what should we do?"

After a moment of thinking, Hayner finally decided, "We're going back for her."

"And those pictures?" Pence asked as he followed Hayner, who was headed towards the woods.

"We'll find blackmail of our own."

- x – x – x – x -

Olette attempted several times to somehow get untied and failed every time. She groaned loudly through the cloth that gagged her. If she were quick to cry, tears would have been streaming down her face by now. But Olette was tougher than that. She knew there was no point crying out of frustration and tried to figure out a way out of this situation. She couldn't come up with one though. The rope was tied around her wrist, arms, legs, and ankles tightly. She had tried a few times, but couldn't get up on her feet. She remained in the middle of the room, lying on her back on the floor.

_Great. My team's gonna forfeit because they'll think I chickened out. I'm gonna have to kiss that jerk. And I have no idea how long I'm going to be in this creepy place. And now…I'm starving._

"Mm mm mph mrr!" Olette shouted through her gag, trying to scream, _"I'm going to kill Sora!"_

Just as Olette was starting to lose all hope, the door to the mansion creaked open. The light from the outside blinded the girl and she had to shut her eyes.

"Olette?" a voice gasped.

Olette looked up and saw two figures standing in the doorway. She felt infuriated when she saw who it was standing in the doorway.

"Mr mm! Mm!" she tried screaming, only to be muffled by her gag.

Hayner and Pence rushed inside. The boys flipped her over and began untying the ropes. Olette was thrashing about the whole time.

"We're really sorry Olette," Pence began apologizing as he untied the ropes around her ankles.

Hayner nodded in agreement. "We really didn't want to do it," he explained. "But you have to understand, Sora was blackmailing us!"

Olette calmed down a bit. She slightly understood, if Sora was blackmailing them Hayner and Pence would have no chance but to do what he ordered. She still slightly struggled as the boys finished up untying her. Olette jumped to her feet and ripped the gag out of her mouth.

Once the cloth had been removed Olette screamed, "I'M GOING TO KILL SORA!"

Hayner and Pence shot each other frightened glances as Olette turned back to them, looking deranged. The boys flinched under her glare.

"Can you forgive us?" Pence asked as he and Hayner stood up in front of the girl.

Olette crossed her arms and stared up at the ceiling. "I guess…" she finally said with a small smile. "But just so we're even…"

Olette sucker-punched Pence in the stomach. She spun around and kicked Hayner where the sun don't shine as hard as she could. Both boys toppled to the floor, kneeled over in pain. Olette dusted some dirt off her shorts and straightened herself, smiling maliciously. There was a demented look in her eye. There was only revenge on her mind.

"Sora's gonna be sorry he EVER messed with me," she snarled.

"Glad we're not him right now…" Pence groaned as he crawled to his knees, still holding his stomach.

"What are you complaining about?" Hayner carped. "You got it easy. She actually kicked me in the crotch!"

Olette grabbed the boys by their arms and lifted them to their feet. She pointed to the doorway dramatically, still smiling wickedly to herself. "We have a baseball game to play."

- x – x – x – x -

"Chickened out?" Selphie echoed.

Sora nodded. "Yep. Told us herself, she's had enough of this and just quit."

Naminé marched up to Sora with crossed arms. "That doesn't sound like Olette at all," she snapped.

"Oh trust me, she forfeited," Sora snickered. Naminé eyed him suspiciously. She had a feeling he was hiding something.

"So…this is it?" Yuffie asked, sounding disappointed.

"Uh huh. The boys win," Sora sighed with a gloating tone.

Tifa frowned. "No way! Something's not right! Why didn't Olette come here and tell us herself she quits?"

"Because," Sora laughed. "She was too ashamed to tell you guys face to face."

All the while, some boys behind him were snickering. Roxas was staring at the back of Sora's head with suspicion. He knew something wasn't right. The girls exchanged looks of uncertainty and disappointment. They expected better from their captain.

"I've got a question," Rikku peeped. Sora sighed and shut his eyes, feeling aggravated. She continued, "If Olette quit and didn't want to see us, how come she's headed this way with those boys?"

"WHAT?" Sora opened his eyes quickly and looked in the direction Rikku was pointing at. Coming down the sidewalk, stomping towards the lot, was Olette with Hayner and Pence trailing behind her with anxious smiles.

"This isn't good," Riku whimpered as he slowly backed away from Sora's side. Roxas smiled suddenly.

Olette slowly approached the fence, a demonic glint in her eye and a smirk on her face. She jumped over the fence while Hayner and Pence went through the gate. Olette slowly marched up to Sora. He was giving her incredulous looks and seemed almost terrified.

"How…how…" Sora stammered, still staring at Olette like he was about to get killed by her.

And by the way she looked, that seemed like it was going to happen.

Olette had violated Sora's bubble and marched straight up to him, getting in his face. She was still smirking maniacally as she grabbed Sora by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close to her. He could now see her smirk up close and could see the details in her eyes perfectly. He began sweating from panic. Even his teammates let out a few whimpers of fear.

"Listen you little punk!" Olette hissed through her smirk, pulling Sora closer to her by the collar of his shirt. "That little stunt you pulled back there was cowardly and pathetic!"

Roxas couldn't help but snicker at his cousin. He tried muffling it with his hand.

"You picked the wrong girl to mess with!" Olette snarled, somehow managing to keep the smirk on her face. "You're a deceitful little twerp whose about to learn the meaning of pain!"

Sora screamed. "Please don't kill me! We were just joking!" he pleaded, shutting his eyes tight so as to not stare into the rage and anger swimming around in Olette's green eyes. Olette laughed lightly and pushed Sora to the ground.

"Olette, what's going on?" Naminé gasped. She flinched slightly when Olette turned to her, still looking wrathful.

"Someone decided to play dirty and just lost his kissing privileges!" Olette yelled, turning back to Sora and glowering at him as he stayed where he was on the ground.

"You can't do that!" Sora snapped. "We had a deal!"

Olette pierced another dirty look into him. He grew even paler and inched away on the ground.

"That may be so," Olette hissed. "But when you decide to cheat and tie me up and throw me in an old mansion THEN THINGS CHANGE!"

All the boys winced when she decided to shriek the last part of her sentence.

"It…it was just a joke!" Sora whimpered. Olette walked up to him, slowly. He gulped. She leaned in, crouching over him since he was still on the ground where she threw him.

"The deal's still on," she chuckled in a seductive but frightening voice. "But pull another stunt like that, not only will you get my first kiss but you'll also get my foot up your butt."

Olette straightened her posture, looking down at Sora with a satisfied smirk. He gulped again, thankful all she did was yell at him. She turned to the other girls.

"So," Olette chimed. "Let's play baseball!"

The sudden change in moods only terrified the boys more. Roxas had been laughing the whole time to himself. Watching Sora squirm under Olette's glare had made his day.

"Who was up to bat?" Olette snarled as she turned back to Sora.

"W-We were," Sora sniveled while he picked himself up.

"Well then," Olette huffed. She faced her team again. "Time to start up this game, right?"

The girls cheered and went to their places on the field. The boys went over to their dugout. Sora got to his feet. As he made his way past Olette, she made a violent motion towards him. Sora shrieked and dashed over to the dugout. Olette went over to the pitcher's mound, laughing. She was ready to finish the game.

Unfortunately, it was taking longer than what she wanted.

"What are you talking about?" Selphie shrieked, getting right in Seifer's face. Though he was much taller than her, he was certainly acting like she could take him down with one swing. "It's totally an out! I caught the ball!"

Selphie had run all the way from the second base up to Seifer, who was standing on the first plate. Seifer snapped how he was safe. Selphie begged to differ.

"No you didn't!" Seifer defended, making sure he backed far away enough from the enraged girl. "It landed in your glove, but then it bounced out!"

Selphie shrieked, getting ready to lunge at Seifer. Olette, Kairi, Yuffie, and even Tifa had to hold Selphie back so that she didn't beat Seifer into a bloody pulp.

"Sorry Selphie, but the guy's right. He's safe," Tifa informed, sounding regretful herself.

This managed to calm Selphie down. She stopped thrashing, allowing the four girls to let her go. Before Selphie returned to second base she delivered a kick to Seifer's shin.

"Ow!" He began hopping around as Selphie returned to her place, smiling satisfactorily to herself.

Olette sighed heavily and returned to the pitcher's mound. The boys managed to catch up. The game was already in the fourth inning, and the boys got five points. The girls only earned themselves two points. The score was nine to eight. The girls were down by one. Olette furrowed her brow and twirled the ball around in her hand as she waited for the next batter to come up. She wasn't about to lose hope. The girls managed to get her this far. They were sure to catch up.

Hayner approached the plate. From where she stood, Olette could see Hayner giving her apologetic eyes for the umpteenth time the day. Olette couldn't help but feel like she needed to forgive him. Even if he did stab her in the back. Olette swiftly brought her arm back and flung it forward. She threw a decent fastball. Hayner swung his bat almost five seconds too late. Olette raised an eyebrow. She found him to be a really bad actor.

_Don't tell me you're losing on purpose as an apology for me._

Olette arched her back slightly as she brought her arm back. Hesitating for a moment, Olette swung her arm around and sent the ball hurtling forward. This time Hayner swung early.

"Hayner!" Sora shouted from the dugout. "Pay attention for crying out loud!"

Olette saw from the pitcher's mound Hayner smiling to himself. So he really was messing up on purpose. This caused a smile to tug at the corner of Olette's lips. She tossed the ball between her hands. Quickly she flung the ball forward. Hayner missed for a third time.

"Strike three!" Tifa announced. "You're out!"

Hayner shrugged casually. He almost skipped back to the dugout. Olette looked over at the boys' dugout. Sora was actually slamming his head against the fencing of the dugout.

"Third out! Fourth inning's up!" Tifa called out to the field. "Girls are up!"

Seifer walked up to Olette from the first base. "Listen, I have to get to work so I can't stay for the fifth inning," he told her.

"Why are you telling me?" Olette asked. "Shouldn't you tell your captain?"

Seifer almost cringed in fear. "The thing is…when it comes to baseball Sora is–"

"You have to what?" Sora screeched from the dugout. He stomped up the pitcher's mound. Olette had bruised his ego that day and he certainly was acting like it. "Work? Why didn't you tell me? You're not leaving!"

Seifer crossed his arms across his chest and glowered down at his team captain. "I'm older, taller, and stronger than you," Seifer snickered. "If you think you can command me, then you're mistaking."

"But I'm your captain too!" Sora hissed, keeping his masculinity. Olette only watched as the two boys had a battle of testosterone. "And when on the field I have command over you!"

"I'm not getting fired from my job because of you!" Seifer said, finally losing his patience. "And it's just a game!"

Sora's eye twitched. Olette almost shrank back. "JUST A GAME?" Sora repeated.

_Whoa,_ Olette thought as she smiled anxiously. _He's starting to take this more seriously than me._

Everyone had started to gather around to watch what was happening. Roxas slapped his forehead at his cousin's behavior. Several of the girls were giggling while some boys were betting on if a fight would start and who would win.

"It's okay," Olette said. She looked from Sora to Seifer. Her gaze landed on Seifer. "You can go to work. We'll just start the fifth inning another day."

Seifer smiled, and then glared at Sora. "Thank you," he laughed. "At least **someone** isn't losing their sanity." This only caused Sora's eye to twitch again.

Olette laughed, starting to get unnerved. "Really…it's okay…Just go to work and we'll continue the game another day," she said.

"Later guys!" Seifer fare welled as he left the field. Sora stormed off, muttering incoherent words to himself.

Olette walked up to her friends. She smiled at them while they frowned.

"Fifth inning already, and we only have eight points," Yuffie muttered. She crossed her arms and glared at the ground.

"Aw come on guys!" Olette tried cheering up. "We're only one point behind. We'll catch up to them in no time!"

"Whatever," the three girls huffed simultaneously. Olette forced a smile at them. She wondered how Selphie, Kairi, and Yuffie could be so negative will she stayed the optimistic. Maybe it was because she almost witnessed Seifer and Sora tear each other apart. Olette smirked evilly at the thought of someone actually tearing Sora apart. This earned strange looks from her friends.

"She's smirking like that again," Selphie whimpered.

"What can I say?" Kairi chuckled with a shrug of her shoulders. "Revenge is sweet."

Olette looked around when she realized someone was missing. Almost everyone cleared out of the field, but Olette thought this person in particular would wait for her.

"Have you seen Naminé anywhere?" she asked the three others.

The girls were quiet. Olette cocked her head.

"Um, Olette?" Selphie pointed behind Olette.

The brunette turned on her heels to see what it was her friend was pointing at. Olette was unsure how to react, but her eyes widened anyhow. Leaving the field together, she saw Roxas and Naminé walking side by side. Naminé laughed at something as Roxas laughed. A strange warmth developed in the pit of Olette's stomach. She could only suspect what that feeling was. It seemed Naminé already wooed Roxas before Olette had a chance. Not that she wanted to woo him anyway, or so Olette figured.

"Oh man," she grumbled to herself. Kairi, Selphie, and Yuffie exchanged glances with each other.

"Don't look now," Yuffie said.

Olette directed her attention to the people headed towards her. Hayner and Pence were headed her way. She crossed her arms and gave them both stern looks.

"What is it now you two?" Olette sighed while she hung her head.

"Remember that ice cream we offered you before we, um, betrayed you?" Hayner mentioned with a distant laugh. Behind Olette Selphie, Kairi, and Yuffie got into fighting positions, ready to attack if they tried to do anything to her. Olette nodded.

"That offer's still open," Pence continued when Hayner faltered anxiously.

Olette looked at her friends over her shoulder. They all smiled at each other. Olette looked back at the two boys and requested, "Only if they can come with us."

Hayner and Pence glanced at the three other girls. They glared darkly at the boys. Hayner and Pence couldn't help but gulp to themselves.

Hayner looked at Pence. "I don't think we have enough money…"

"But I guess it's okay," Pence decided with a smile.

- x – x – x – x -

"Woohoo! Free ice cream!" Yuffie cheered excitedly. They approached the booth, the boys trailing behind them. They rushed up to the booth and smiled at the girl behind the counter.

"What can I get you?" the girl asked with a smooth voice.

The young woman had her blonde hair brushed back behind her ears. Two of her long bangs stuck up strangely, making them look like antennas. She was pale-skinned and was wearing black, slimming her figure. The woman looked even more intimidating than Tifa. Olette couldn't help but stare, feeling nervous under the woman's gaze.

"Can I get you anything?" the woman asked again, drumming her fingers against the counter.

"Six ice creams pa-leeze," Hayner asked with a confident tone. He wiggled his eyebrows at the blonde woman.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I will give you five seconds to turn around and leave," she snarled.

Hayner quickly turned around and walked quickly away. Pence sighed and handed the woman the money. She gave the kids their ice cream.

"I have to go find him now," Pence sighed. "See you girls later."

The girls waved as Pence went after Hayner. The girls began eating their ice cream eagerly. The woman laughed.

"That was some game you kids were playing," she laughed lightly.

Yuffie raised an eyebrow at the young woman. "You saw us?" she questioned with another lick of her ice cream.

The girl nodded. "Sure did. Saw it when I passed by to get to work," she said as she rested her head in her hand. "You know, I play softball myself. Same thing as baseball right?"

Olette didn't answer, afraid she was going to start rambling angrily about the obvious differences between softball and baseball. The three other girls just looked at the blonde woman and nodded.

"It seemed to me you girls were a player short," the blonde went on.

"True," Olette said. "Know anyone that wants to play?"

The girl laughed and straightened up. She held out her hand for Olette. "Name's Larxene," she introduced. "And I just so happen to be interested in playing your game. I might not look it but I'm actually pretty young. I still have enough energy to play sports."

Olette smiled and shook Larxene's hand with her free one. "Welcome to the team then Larxene," she chimed. "We don't have a right fielder. Want that position?"

"Sure, as long as I get to play," Larxene agreed.

"Let's just hope you have skill," Selphie piped. She gave Kairi an annoyed look. Her music was blasting so loud that Selphie could hear it just by standing next to her. "These boys are pretty tough."

"Don't you worry yourselves," Larxene laughed with another smooth chuckle. "I think I can manage."

"Larxene!" a gruff voice shouted from the back of the building the booth was attached to. "You better be working and not chatting up the customers again!"

"Uh oh," Larxene breathed. "Gotta get back to work. See you girls on the field."

The girls waved good-bye to Larxene as they went on their way.

"What luck!" Kairi sighed happily.

"You don't seem happy about it," Yuffie said to Olette.

Olette blinked. "Oh? Oh yeah! I am happy that Larxene is joining our team." Olette scowled and stared ahead of herself. "Now excuse me guys. I have to go home…and see Naminé."

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x -

_**A/N – So, as you read I made Hayner and Pence rescue Olette. Sorry guys but everyone predicted it would be Roxas, so I had to do the unpredictable. So sorry for all you guys who wanted that one Roxette moment. Not to worry though. It'll all happen in the next chapter…maybe. So one…two…three…REVIEW!!!**_


	8. Chapter 8

It was late outside and the sun had already set. The sky was now an inky black decorated with dim stars. Olette sat at her desk, scribbling away at her homework. She was having difficulty concentrating on it though. She sighed irritatingly and glanced at her clock. Olette looked at the window, expecting a rock to be thrown at it. Yet there was no sign of Naminé. Olette scowled and turned back to her homework. She had been writing with her pencil so hard that she broke it.

"Dang it!" she hissed.

_Naminé must be having fun with Roxas._

Olette frowned again and pulled out another pencil. Just then she heard something tapping on her window. She trudged over to it, a scowl on her face. She yanked open the window only to stare right into the face of Naminé.

"Is there a reason why you're hanging outside the ledge of my window?" Olette sighed with a deadpanned face. Naminé was sitting on the ledge, barely keeping on.

"I climbed up the pipe. Couldn't find any rocks," Naminé giggled. She shoved her way inside the room and gently landed on the floor. Olette kept her frown as she made her way back to her desk. She sat down and continued her homework.

"Well?" Naminé chimed, peering over Olette's shoulder. "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm out so late?" Olette merely frowned again. Besides, she didn't have to ask. Naminé went on talking. "I had so much fun with Roxas! He showed me around this side of town and bought me ice cream and–"

"We have a new player on the team," Olette interrupted harshly. She was on the verge of snapping her pencil in half once more. Olette didn't want to admit it. She refused to believe it. But there was no denying it no matter how much she wanted to.

Olette had a crush on Roxas.

Too bad Naminé got to him first. Olette always felt a tad bit inferior to Naminé in their friendship. Olette was the sporty one. Naminé was the cute one. Olette always saw Naminé as someone who was prettier than her. It never bothered Olette before, seeing as how they were best friends. That is until now, when Naminé had swooped in to steal the boy Olette decided she liked way before she even knew it.

And all because Olette couldn't come out and tell her best friend who she liked.

_I guess it's my fault…_ Olette ignored the thought and looked out of the corner of her eye. Naminé's smile suddenly grew.

"Another player for the team?" she squealed loudly. "Which position will she be playing?"

"Right field," Olette answered, still using her serious, harsh tone. She turned back to her math homework. How did she solve this problem? She never liked geometry. "Her name's Larxene."

Naminé looked at Olette almost like she was nuts. "The ice cream girl?" she asked.

"That's right," Olette scoffed, unaware of her hostile tone. "You met her today didn't you? When _Roxas_ took you for ice cream?"

She knew now. She needed to use the Pythagorean theorem. What was the formula for that again?

Naminé looked taken aback. She crossed her arms, then sat herself on Olette's bed. "I don't like that tone you're using."

"What tone?" Olette hissed through her teeth as she glared at her homework. What was that formula?

"The one you're using," Naminé huffed. "Olette, is something bugging you?"

"No," the brunette lied. She tapped the end of her pencil against her desk. She was unable to think, and thus couldn't come up with the stupid formula for the Pythagorean theorem.

"Well. I can see you're busy," Naminé mumbled as she crawled on to her back on the floor. "I'm going to bed. Good night." The blonde disappeared under the bed.

Olette sighed and began scribbling on her paper. That's right. She remembered the formula.

a2 plus b2 equals c2

- x – x – x – x -

"I think something's wrong," Tifa whispered.

Fuu nodded in agreement and looked at the other girls with her red eyes. "Wrong indeed," she whispered simply while crossing her arms.

The girls were watching Olette from the dugout. She was out at the pitcher's mound practicing her throw. She seemed off today. The whole time Olette had a scowl on her face. Even in school the girl was acting more agitated than normal.

"She seems angry to me," Yuffie commented.

"Maybe it's that time of the month," Rikku suggested. The girls looked at the blonde disgustingly.

"Mental images! I'm scarred for life!" Yuffie cried, covering her face quickly.

Rikku smiled sheepishly as the girls tried to shake off the comment. "Sorry."

Olette threw the ball in her hand. The only problem was that she threw the ball off course. Rather than having the ball fly right over the home plate, it went soaring at the girls' dugout.

"Watch where you're throwing that thing!" Selphie called to her. Olette grumbled as she picked the ball up. She went back over to the mound. The boys were snickering from their own dugout.

"There she is!" Tifa said. She pointed over to the fence. Kairi was headed towards the lot with Larxene right behind her. As the two made their way onto the field Sora went stomping up to Olette.

"Are you kidding me?" Sora snarled, glaring at Olette. "You're recruiting players at the last minute again? Well, I don't care! She's not allowed to play!"

Olette didn't respond. She didn't even take a swing at Sora. Instead she slowly turned to look at him and squeezed the ball in her hand. She had turned her head so slowly it looked creepy to anyone who saw. She glared darkly at Sora, making sure he sensed the anger that was currently surging through her veins. Sora stepped back quickly.

"Um…never mind," he decided, afraid that Olette would take the time to lunge at him. "She can play…heh heh…"

The boys poured out of the dugout. They circled their captain to get a good look at the new player. Larxene sent a smirk at them.

"Hey boys," Larxene purred smoothly. "Name's Larxene and I'm the girls' right fielder."

"Hey…" some boys sighed dreamily. Sora snapped his head around to send them dark looks. They quickly wiped the lovesick expressions off their faces.

"Where's Naminé?" Roxas asked. He had looked around and noticed Olette's best friend wasn't there yet.

"Who cares?" Olette suddenly snapped. This earned her the attention of all the people around her. She noticed Roxas' gaze first. She flushed from embarrassment as she quickly added, "I mean, who knows…yeah, let's go with that."

"Don't start without me!" a voice called from the distance. Naminé ran onto the field. She stopped next to Olette's side, gasping for breath. "I'm here, I'm here!"

"We saw," Olette mumbled sarcastically. Naminé shot her an irritated look. "All right. Let's get this over with."

The boys hurried off to their positions on the field. The girls' scurried into the dugout. Larxene stood in front of the girls, hands on her hips.

"Which inning is this?" she asked as she picked up a bat. She practice swung, almost hitting Rikku on the head.

"Fifth," Fuu answered.

"We've got eight points," Tifa said. "The boys have nine."

Larxene smiled to herself, grasping the bat tightly in her hands. "Just down by one point? This is going to be easy."

"Kairi usually goes first," Olette started. "But if you want to go first you can."

"That all right with you?" Larxene asked, turning to Kairi. Kairi only bobbed her head to her music.

"That's a yes," Selphie sighed.

Larxene smirked some more and made sure her strange bangs were out of her face. She rested the bat on her shoulder as she walked out to home plate. The boys readied themselves on the field as Roxas swung his arm back. He flung it forward and the ball went soaring. Olette realized she had no idea if Larxene was as good as she said she was. Just when she expected the newcomer to fail miserably, there was a startling crack. Larxene's bat made contact with the ball with incredible force. Some of the boys gasped while Sora cursed while the ball went flying high above their heads. Larxene skipped from home plate to first base as the ball went soaring past center field. Seifer went chasing after the ball with his glove in the air. He wasn't watching where he was going and crashed into the fence as the ball went over the fence. The boys groaned while Larxene continued on her way from base to base. The girls cheered triumphantly when Larxene stepped onto home plate.

"Wow, a point already?" Larxene taunted with a smile as she brushed back her hair. Sora shook his head in shame. Roxas was laughing to himself, the only boy amused with what he just saw.

"I don't believe it," Olette breathed when Larxene walked into the dugout. "That was…a homerun!"

"Told you I knew how to play," Larxene laughed as she ruffled Olette's hair. "I used to play on a baseball team with boys when I was younger. Went on to play softball. It's been a long time since I played baseball rather than softball, but I think I know what I'm doing."

"You're not kidding!" Tifa exclaimed from where she sat on the bench. "That was some skill out there!"

Larxene couldn't help but smile. "Why thank you."

"And just one swing too!" Naminé gasped. Larxene shrugged, trying to act humble.

Kairi grabbed a bat and went out to the home plate. She waited as Seifer tried getting the ball from the other side of the fence. He fell off the fence. A few seconds later he was climbing back over the fence with the ball in his hand. He ran up to Roxas and gave the pitcher the ball.

"I couldn't believe it!" Seifer gasped when the ball was taken from him. "She hit it so hard the ball almost went into that old guy's yard!"

Roxas looked shocked. "Cid's?" he inquired.

Seifer nodded quickly. "Yeah! That guy! The one who never comes out and hates everyone! And you know how far that is. This girl has one heck of a swing!"

Seifer went back to the center field. Roxas turned back to Kairi, still looking disbelieved. Olette raised an eyebrow. She didn't know where this Cid's guy house, but it must have been somewhere behind the lot. She hadn't been able to see it because of the fence. But from the sound of it was a ways away from the lot itself. Roxas moved quickly and sent the ball flying at Kairi. As usual she missed the first throw on purpose. Larxene walked up to Olette's side and peered out of the dugout.

"What is she doing?" Larxene asked. "Faking it?"

"Actually, yeah." Olette answered. "It's a strategy of hers or something. But she's a good batter. I wouldn't say better than you though."

Larxene let out a laugh. "Oh come on now," she chuckled, waving her hand. "I'm not that good."

"You're not fooling anyone," Olette joked with a small smile.

Roxas tossed the ball around in his hands for a moment. He brought his arm back above his head, then threw it out in front of him. This time when Kairi swung she actually hit the ball. It was sent out into the right field and went rolling in the grass. Kairi dashed from home plate over to first place. Rai scooped the ball into his hands and threw it at Hayner. He caught the ball in the glove, but Kairi was already on the plate by the time he caught it.

"Safe!" Pence called from home plate. Hayner tossed the ball to Roxas. Olette nodded to Fuu. The quiet girl picked out her bat and went over to home plate. The girls cheered as Fuu and Roxas got ready.

"Come on Fuu!" Tifa called. "Bring Kairi home!"

Roxas swung his arm to release the tension building up. When he saw Fuu was in position he threw a fastball at her. All too quickly, Fuu held the bat out in front of her and bunted. Olette was momentarily surprised, only reminded a moment later that Fuu always bunts when Selphie elbowed her in the side. The boys seemed to have forgotten as well when Fuu took off running towards first base. Kairi ran past Hayner as she headed to the second plate. When Pence didn't react Roxas dashed over to the home plate and picked up the ball. He quickly spun around and threw the ball to Riku at second base. Kairi had accidentally tripped Riku when she stepped on second base. The boy went crashing to the ground as the ball rolled past him.

"What's the big idea Kairi!" Riku snapped from the dirt.

"I'm sorry!" Kairi gasped as she looked down at Riku. "It was an accident!"

"That should count as interference!" Riku shouted to Pence.

Pence only shrugged with a confused expression. "I didn't see anything," he lied. Olette frowned. He and Hayner were still trying to make it up to her. Riku muttered to himself as he tossed to ball to Roxas.

Olette turned to Yuffie. "Yuffie?"

Yuffie nodded and went to the home plate. Several plays later the girls had earned themselves two points. Kairi and Fuu had been the ones to earn the team those points. Yuffie was now standing on the third base, her left foot barely on it as she prepared for a chance to step on home. Tifa was at first base, the last batter up. Now it was Rikku's turn.

"Oh boy!" Rikku squealed as she picked up a bat. "I get to bat again!"

"This will be amusing," Larxene chuckled in a whisper as she watched Rikku dance her way up to home plate. Rikku practice swung with her bat. Olette sighed when she saw the girl's terrible swing. But as long as she hit the ball they should be fine.

Roxas pulled a fastball on Rikku. With her eyes shut tight, Rikku took a swing at the ball a few seconds late. Sora quickly ducked, expecting her to throw the bat out of her hands. Everyone stared at Rikku as she held the bat in her hands.

"I've been practicing!" Rikku squealed, holding the bat in the air with a proud smile. Sora sighed out of relief and stood back up.

Pence threw the ball at Roxas. The blonde pitcher slowly brought his arm back. Then with full force his arm came forward. The ball slipped out of his hand and went flying at Rikku. She swung with too much strength and missed the ball. Rikku twirled where she stood and fell to the dirt, her head spinning.

"Did I miss?" she asked, sounding dizzy. Pence chuckled and nodded.

"Strike two!" he shouted, and then tossed the ball back to Roxas.

"Why is she on the team?" Larxene asked, sounding disapproving.

Olette smiled sheepishly for her. "She wanted to join." Larxene stared down at her oddly.

Rikku got back on her feet and picked up her bat. Roxas sent a curve ball at her this time. The girl swung the bat back and then forward. She completely missed again, causing the boys on the field to laugh. Rikku pouted. She stuck her nose in the air and marched back to the dugout with Pence shouting behind her,

"Strike three! First out!"

"My turn!" Naminé chimed. Her peppy tone only made Olette roll her eyes. Olette didn't like holding a grudge against her best friend. She also didn't like that Naminé liked Roxas. She just wasn't sure which one she didn't like more.

Her blonde best friend went to home plate with a bat in her hands. Olette was unable to avoid the fact that several boys on the field were drooling. Fortunately, Roxas was actually not one of those boys. In fact, he was looking at Naminé seriously like he did with everyone else. Olette learned that while Sora was a jerk and tended to be somewhat immature, Roxas always acted serious and much too mature. Olette knew for a fact that Naminé wasn't all for that type of person. So why Roxas?

Naminé brushed back her blonde hair and held up the bat, getting into her batting stance. Roxas tossed the baseball in his hand. He arched back and swung his arm forward. The ball went hurtling at Naminé. She didn't swing at it.

"Ball one!" Pence announced while tossing the ball back to Roxas. Olette frowned. Roxas must have messed up on purpose because it was Naminé.

Roxas got back into his pitching position and sent the ball at Naminé. This time the girl swung at the ball. She hit it. The ball flew into the air and then landed on the ground. It rolled past Sora at the shortstop position and went rolling into the left field. Waka raced up to the ball. Yuffie went dashing from third to home and Tifa took off from first to get to second. Naminé threw her bat aside and ran towards the first plate. By the time Waka scooped the ball into his glove Yuffie had already stepped on home plate, earning the girls another point. The girls erupted into cheering as they urged Tifa and Naminé to go on. When Roxas got the ball in his glove Naminé was on first while Tifa was on second.

"Who's up next?" Yuffie asked through a series of wheezing when she walked into the dugout. She earned herself a few high fives from the girls in the dugout.

"I'll go," Olette decided. Honestly, all she wanted to do was steal Naminé's thunder. This was going to be harder for her.

Olette stood on home plate with her bat. She got into position and looked at Roxas. She made sure to narrow her eyes at him. He didn't seem to notice though. Roxas threw the ball at Olette. She swung at the ball with great force. Too bad she missed.

"Strike one!" Pence said while he threw the ball back at Roxas.

Olette tightened her grip on her bat. She grit her teeth together and glared even more at Roxas. Only one image was playing through her head as she stood on home plate. Roxas and Naminé laughing together. It should be Roxas and _her_ laughing together, she though as she saw Roxas bring his arm back.

_Roxas and __**me**!_

Roxas flung his arm forward and the ball flew out of his hand. Olette was no longer targeting the ball however. Unconsciously, she swung her bat forwards and let the thing slip out of her hands, making it look like she had tried to hit the ball. She missed the ball though and the bat went flying forwards. Poor Roxas was hit in the gut with the bat. Everyone on the field gasped and Olette's hands shot to her mouth. Sora was laughing rudely from his shortstop position as Roxas kneeled over and held his stomach in pain.

"How does it feel?" Sora chortled, holding his sides as he continued laughing.

Olette only stared as the pitcher struggled back up, glaring at his cousin. He hobbled over to Olette and handed her the bat back. Roxas' eyes flickered to meet Olette's. He quickly looked away and headed back to the pitcher's mound.

"…Strike…two…!" Pence announced, trying not to laugh like Sora had.

Roxas wasn't the only one Olette would lash out at. He twisted his upper body, then threw his arm out in front of him. Olette concentrated on the ball this time. She swung and managed to hit the ball. The only problem was that she swung too late. Rather than having the ball go out into center field, the ball went flying to the first base where Naminé was standing. The poor blonde girl was hit on the head with the bat. She screamed and fell to the ground. Sora started laughing again while Olette gasped again. Everyone looked from Olette to Naminé. She couldn't blame them for thinking she was a crazy psychopath.

Olette had no idea how to feel. Sorry or happy. She felt bad that the two of them got hurt. But then on the other hand she though they deserved it. Naminé chucked the ball at Roxas, glaring at Olette as she did.

"Ball one?" Pence decided, sounding unsure himself.

Olette was so distracted with her mixed feelings that she was unaware that Roxas had thrown the ball again. She blinked when the boys cheered and the girls groaned.

"Strike three!" Pence told those who were listening. Olette stood on the home plate, still feeling confused.

"Get off the plate!" Riku called from second base. Olette frowned and headed back to the dugout. She threw the bat on the ground as Selphie went out to the home plate. She huffed and sat on the bench with her arms crossed.

"That was some…playing," Larxene commented as she sat down next to Olette.

"Just…shut up," Olette snapped, still scowling.

Selphie sent the ball rolling on the ground on her first swing. Tifa went off, dashing from second to third. Naminé, despite her massive headache she was now suffering from, hurried over to the second plate. Selphie tossed her bat aside and ran towards the first plate. Riku plucked the baseball off the ground and stepped back on the second plate. He tagged Naminé out. The boys let out cheers of triumph.

"Third out! Boys' turn!" Pence shouted from behind the home plate. The girls on the field scowled but hurried to their positions.

As Olette made her way out of the dugout she saw Naminé marching straight up to her. Olette plastered a fake smile on as her best friend approached her. Naminé, rather than returning the smile, frowned at Olette.

"You better get your act together!" the blonde warned.

Olette acted taken aback. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"Don't pull that on me Olette!" Naminé snapped harshly. Olette stepped back. "Something's up with you. And if you don't want to tell me, fine! But the last thing I'd expect from you is to let your childish tantrum ruin the game!"

Olette's jaw dropped. "Childish tantrum?" she echoed with an outraged tone. "Well **excuse** me! Some of us don't have it as easy as you! Some of us don't get a boy's attention as easily!"

Naminé raised an eyebrow. "What are you rambling about now?"

"Out of my way!" Olette demanded. She shoved past Naminé and stormed over to the pitcher's mound. She was hoping not to let her jealousy get the best of her. But Naminé had egged her on. Olette clenched the ball in her fist as the first batter approached the plate. It was Roxas.

Without so much as waiting for Roxas to get into batting position, Olette chucked the ball at him. He was hit in the arm. Roxas dropped the bat and rubbed the spot where he was hit. Everyone stared at Olette in shock. Tifa picked up the ball and tossed it at Olette.

"Um…ball one?" Tifa called.

Olette groaned and tried to control herself. She waited for Roxas to get into his stance. She didn't aim again. She hit him with the ball again, this time harder than before.

"Ow!" Roxas let the bat fall out of his hands again.

"Olette!" some girls on the field shouted. She flinched at their tone of voices.

"That should be a walk!" Sora shouted from the boys' dugout. "That's the second time she hit him!"

"Fine," Tifa huffed. "You get to walk."

Roxas tossed the bat and headed for the first base. The whole time he had his eyes glued to Olette. She stared at her shoes, so as to avoid his gaze. Sora went up to the home plate with a bat in his hands. Olette received the ball from Tifa. She brought her arm back, then swung it forward. The ball was gone. It had slipped out of hand too early and went soaring at Naminé. She was hit on the head with the ball again.

"Olette!" Naminé screeched in pain as her hands shot to her head.

The girls gasped. The boys laughed. Roxas was staring at Olette intently. She looked away from him and stared at Naminé, who was now stumbling around in pain. Olette started shaking. She took off running. She continued running away from the lot.

"I need some time to regain myself!" Olette called to the shocked teens in the lot of she hurried down the sidewalk.

"Olette!" the girls called after her. But she was already gone.

"Get back here!" Sora demanded. "We have a game to play! Hey! Don't ignore me when I'm demanding you!"

- x – x – x – x -

Olette snuck out of her house with a bag of baseballs, her glove, and a bat in her hands. It was already getting late, and Naminé still didn't show herself. Olette was starting to worry. Sure, she had some hidden anger towards the blonde, but she still cared about her best friend. Olette managed to sneak past her parents and started for the lot. By the time she reached the baseball field the sky was already black with stars. She sighed to herself and walked up to the home plate. She dropped the bag by her feet. She picked out a ball and tossed it in front of her. She completely missed when she swung her bat.

Olette scowled. She repeated her actions. She only missed the ball again. Olette yelled and threw the ball with all her might. It went flying into the center field. She stood at the home plate, scowling. She was still upset. It showed in the way she was playing. Any other time she would have been able to hit that ball out of the lot. But because of this whole thing with Naminé, she couldn't concentrate.

"You're stance is off," a voice suddenly spoke up from Olette's far right.

She gasped and snapped her head around. Roxas was sitting on the fence. He stared at Olette. She felt herself blush.

"How long were you watching?" she asked with a defiant tone.

"Long enough," he replied, jumping off the fence. "Your batting stance is really off."

"I can figure it out myself," Olette huffed. She picked the bat up and pulled out another ball. Roxas appeared by her side. He took the ball out of her hand and let it fall to the dirt. Olette's cheeks turned a darker shade of pink when she realized how close he was to her.

"You have to learn the stance before you can actually hit the ball," Roxas said. He walked over behind her. He placed his own foot between Olette's and kicked them further apart. "Your feet were too close. You need to separate them more."

"I'm able to do a stance by myself!" Olette snapped.

Roxas ignored her. "You're too slanted to one side," he went on. He placed his hands on her waist and straightened her posture. Olette just knew her face was growing a darker shade of red more and more as Roxas went on. "You're not holding the bat right either." His hands slowly trailed up from her waist to her hands. Roxas placed his hands over Olette's and held them tightly. He positioned her hands to where they needed to be on the bat. Roxas arranged Olette's arms so that she held the bat right. Roxas smiled. "Now you can hit a ball."

He demonstrated a slow swing for Olette, still holding on to her. Olette though any moment her heart was about to either explode, or come flying out of her chest. Roxas had definitely invaded her personal bubble. She wasn't complaining though. In fact, she would hate the moment they parted from each other. Roxas was still swinging the bat. Something in Olette's mind snapped and she suddenly thrust her arm forward, swinging the bat with all her might. The wooden stick went flying out of her hands and soared all the way across the lot. It landed in the outfield with Olette's ball. She stared at where the bat landed in shock. She slowly turned her head and looked at Roxas. He was also staring at the bat. But he seemed amused.

"That's some swing you've got there," he laughed as he finally looked into Olette's eyes.

That's when Olette felt her heart stopped. She realized just how close Roxas' face was to hers. He was still holding her hands with his as well. Once again, he was staring at her with a serious gaze. The smile on his face had suddenly disappeared and he looked deadpanned. Olette's eyes trailed from Roxas' eyes to his lips. Without thinking she accidentally leaned in close to his face.

"You should probably got get your bat," Roxas breathed, stopping Olette from leaning in just in time. Her eyes flickered back to his blue ones. She could picture it now, her face as red as a cherry.

"R-right." Olette slipped out of Roxas' grasp and hurried off towards the centerfield, holding her face in surprise the whole time. Roxas let out a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair.

Olette scurried over to the bat lying in the grass, her heart still beating faster than what it should have. She bent over and picked up both the bat and ball. When she straightened back up she saw a large manor surrounded by a large black gate behind the fence of the lot. The manor had a lot of land, and the gate itself was surrounded by bushes.

"Wow," Olette gasped. "That house must have cost a lot."

After regaining her bat and ball, Olette hurried back to the home plate. When she got back there Roxas was holding Olette's glove. He looked up and smiled.

"Ready to practice your pitching?" he asked, tossing the glove at her.

"Won't Sora be infuriated when he finds out you've been helping me?" Olette questioned. She caught the glove and threw the bat at Roxas. He caught it perfectly.

"I've never cared about what he thinks before," Roxas commented as he got into his batting position.

Olette smirked and tossed the ball in and out of her glove. She felt the same way about Naminé. She didn't care then and she didn't care now.

"You know," Roxas spoke up before Olette could pitch the ball. "The way you ran out during the middle of the game like that, everyone's starting to think you're crazy."

"I'm starting to think that too," Olette murmured.

"It took me a while, but I finally convinced Sora to postpone the game again for your sake," he said, swinging the bat forward lightly. "So. Why did you run out?"

"I just…needed to think. Needed to be alone," was all Olette could come up with.

Olette stared at Roxas as he held the bat in his hands. They exchanged gazes for a moment before Olette brought her arm back. She threw the ball forward, this time perfectly. Roxas swung the bat forward and there was a deafening _crack_. The ball went flying over Olette's head. The two of them stared with open jaws as the ball continued flying past the fence of the lot. It finally rolled to the ground behind the gate that circled the manor behind the lot. Roxas dropped the bat suddenly.

"A homerun," Olette whispered, still staring at where the ball landed behind the gate.

"I got your ball stuck behind Cid's gate," Roxas said, sounding regretful. "I'll go get it!" He took off running past Olette. She quickly turned on her heels, her eyes following him.

"But I have a bag full of them," she shouted as she took off after him.

Roxas jumped over the fence of the lot and continued towards the gate. Olette struggled over the fence since she was tired by the time she reached it. She fell off when she finally got over to the other side. Roxas was already by the gate, studying it to find a way to climb over it.

"Roxas you don't have to – Ah!" Olette tripped suddenly on a rock. Roxas quickly turned around as Olette went lunging at him. They both yelled when she collided into him. Olette and Roxas went tumbling into a bush.

"Are you…okay?" Roxas grunted from beneath Olette. She gasped when she saw just how close they were to each other again. She quickly crawled off him. He sat on his legs and rubbed his head. They both remained in the bush.

"Roxas…I should tell you something…" Olette's voice trailed off.

Roxas looked up at her. "What is it Olette?" The way he said her name made Olette hesitate.

"I…"

"Wait!" Roxas suddenly hissed. He placed a finger over Olette's lips and looked over his shoulder. Olette felt her cheeks heat up. But then she heard the sound of footsteps. They both peeked through the leaves of the bush.

"Stupid kids!" came the scraggily voice of someone old. Their voice was accented with a hick like accent. "Go and toss balls into my yard…"

The man started muttering incoherent words. He bent over and picked up the ball Roxas hit into the yard. He straightened himself back up.

"It's Cid," Roxas informed in a whisper. Olette continued watching as the man named Cid held the baseball tightly in his hand and turned back to his house. He crossed the ridiculously large yard and went inside. Roxas shot up out of the bush. "I can't believe he took it! Don't worry, I'll get it back!"

Olette stared up at him in surprise as she too popped out of the bush. "But I–"

It was no use arguing. Roxas was already struggling to climb up the tall iron bars of the gate. Olette got completely out of the bush and rushed up to the spot Roxas decided to scale. Before she had a chance to stop him, Roxas was already jumping off the top of the gate and landing in Cid's yard.

"Roxas! Get back here!" Olette hissed through her teeth, grappling to the bars that separated her and the blonde pitcher.

"I'll be back in a minute," Roxas assured. He began creeping across the yard to the front door of the manor. Roxas' plan was foiled, however, when the front door slammed open, allowing the light from inside to flood out and blind the boy. Cid was standing in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Thought you'd break in did you?" Cid barked. He grabbed Roxas' arm and yanked him up the porch. "Young people today, I swear! You're in a lot of trouble youngster!" the old man scolded as he forced Roxas through the door. Roxas looked over his shoulder at Olette and sent her a distressed look before the door slammed shut.

Olette gasped and covered her mouth. Though this didn't do any good for anyone. "That crazy old guy kidnapped Roxas!" she said loudly to herself, her tone sounding like a mixture of outrage and panic.

Olette did what anyone practical would have done. She started running around in circles while waving her hands and crying, "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?" There was only one thing she could do. She had to get over the fence, break into the grumpy old guy's house, and rescue Roxas.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	9. Chapter 9

Olette continued her running around in circles routine for several more minutes. She continued yelling as well. When she finally ran out of breath she placed her hands on her knees and gasped. She looked through the iron bars of the gate and stared at the manor. She grabbed the bars and leaned against them.

"Why would you go and do that Roxas?" she whispered. "I had more baseballs back there."

Olette huffed. Boys. She'll never understand them. She began naming as many bad traits about boys as she could while she began scaling the gate. She was already halfway up the gate when she came up with twenty things.

_They're mean, smelly, rude, obnoxious, confusing, hateful…_

The list continued as Olette went on struggling up the gate. Just as she was about to reach the top she slipped and fell back to earth. She groaned as pain seared through her. She fell quite a ways. Olette staggered up and tried again.

_Irritating, backstabbing, violent, smug, cocky, egotistical…_

Olette pulled herself up. She sat on top of the gate. She sighed to herself with satisfaction. Now there was just the problem of getting down. That and also getting into the house without also getting kidnapped by some crazy old guy. As Olette snaked her way down the gate, a brand new list began in her head. She considered the fact that boys had their good traits.

_They're caring, kind, helpful, protective…_

"Eek!" Olette's hand slipped again and she went falling through the air. _Thunk._ "Ouch…" The grass on the other side of the fence wasn't squishy like she had expected it. It was as hard as rock.

_They're sweet, lovable, wonderful, sensual, funny…_

Olette groaned again. She sat herself up and rubbed her head. She frowned at herself.

"What am I thinking?" she snapped, getting back on her feet. She dusted off her shorts. "Boys suck."

She took off towards the manor. She completely disagreed with her second list. Besides, she was able to name more negative things than positive ones. She knew, she counted.

Olette's pace slowed down as the manor grew bigger and bigger. It was hard to see where exactly she was going with the lack of light. As Olette concentrated on the large house in front of her, she stubbed her toe on something. She went tumbling to the grass.

"Uhn…" Olette looked over her shoulder. The wretched object that had tripped her was nothing more than a sprinkler. She muttered to herself as she got back on her feet again.

"I'm starting to wonder if rescuing Roxas is really worth it," she murmured. She approached a window quietly and peered inside. The room was pitch black. She couldn't make out anything about the room. But she did notice one thing. The window wasn't locked closed. Olette went over he options and decided to sneak in through the window. The door was probably locked anyway.

Olette managed to crawl through the window more quietly than she had done when she hopped the gate. She gently closed the window shut and turned back around. A chill was sent tingling up and down her spine. The room had a creepy vibe. There were pictures everywhere. Pictures on the walls, pictures on the shelves, pictures on the desks, pictures on the bookshelves, pictures just…everywhere. She felt like she was being watched by millions of photographed eyes. She hurried across the room and went through the door. She left it open and continued down the hallway.

"Where is he keeping Roxas?" she asked herself as quietly as she could keep her voice.

She stopped in her tracks. She was in a room that reminded her of a normal house's living room. She stood frozen where she stood. Something about this room calmed her, yet frightened her at the same time. A flight of stairs led off to the upstairs in this room. There was a squishy looking couch seated next to a heavy looking coffee table. An old styled TV was placed on top of a small table. The living room had decorative carpets sprawled out on the floor. Bookshelves were placed here and there in the living room. Sitting on top of the coffee table was a baseball Olette thought was hers. She wasn't interested in it though. It was the framed photos in one bookshelf that caught her attention.

She tiptoed over to the bookshelf and studied the photos more closely. The photos consisted of a man in a baseball uniform. One was a single picture of the man, posing proudly. Another was a picture of the same man huddling together with more people wearing baseball uniforms. Another picture was one of the man swinging his bat as he hit a homerun. Olette's green eyes widened in realization. The man looked like a younger version of the Cid character that kidnapped Roxas. Olette leaned in closer. The man in the pictures _was_ Cid.

"Cid used to play baseball?" Olette asked. Her head snapped around when she heard footsteps from upstairs.

"You stay right there you hear?" Cid shouted to Roxas somewhere above. The old man descended the stairs, looking tired. He entered what seemed to be a completely empty living room. Olette was quick and hid under the large coffee table. Hopefully the darkness would also disguise her better. Cid looked at the baseball sitting on the coffee table, and stumbled right over to the bookshelf filled with old baseball photos.

"Those were the days," Cid laughed. Olette was surprised to hear the man laugh for once. "Stupid kids ruined the game these days…"

There was the Cid Olette knew. He grumbled to himself and walked into another room. Olette poked her head out from underneath the table. The cost was clear. At top speed, Olette dashed out from underneath the coffee table and scurried up the stairs. She made sure to keep quiet and not make a single sound. Her eyes searched around the dark hall. She could make out pictures hanging on the wall, and a few tiny tables decorating the hall. She heard noise downstairs and hurried down the hall. One door caught her attention. She yanked it open and collided into something. She and that something went crashing to the floor.

"Olette?" Roxas gasped.

Olette shook her head to clear her thoughts. She gave the boy a startled look. "Roxas? You're all right?"

Roxas helped Olette up and motioned for her to keep her voice down.

"Of course I'm fine," he whispered. "It's not like that guy was going to murder me or something."

Olette gave him a sheepish smile. Maybe she had overreacted a bit.

Roxas rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "He's just going to _call my parents_."

"Let's get out of here then," Olette ordered.

Nodding in agreement, Roxas followed her down the hall. She though it wiser to climb out a window on the second story than go downstairs. Cid might have caught them if they did that. The two teens walked into a dark bedroom. Olette hurried over to a window and struggled to get it open. Roxas was looking around the room. He leaned in and studied a picture on a drawer.

"Did you know this Cid guy played baseball?" Roxas asked after looking away from another one of Cid's baseball pictures.

Olette nodded once she finally got the window open. She looked at Roxas from across the room.

"He has old baseball pictures all over the house," she told him.

Roxas laughed. "What a weird coincidence."

"You're telling me," Olette murmured. She looked out the window. There was a tree close enough for the two of them to climb down. She motioned Roxas to come over. He studied the tree.

"I'll go down first," he said to her. "That way we can tell if it's safe or dangerous."

"Be my guest."

Roxas climbed out of the window and jumped at the tree. He landed on a branch and began climbing down from tree branch to tree branch. Olette followed after. She lunged at the tree as well, only she missed the branch. Roxas looked up in surprise, still climbing down the tree, as Olette went falling in his direction. She crashed into him and both of them went tumbling through the air. Olette landed on top of Roxas on the grass.

"That hurt…" Roxas groaned. "Gerroff…"

Olette rolled off him, shaken with pain from falling through the air the second time that night. That crash (and yelling from the two teens) must have made enough noise to catch Cid's attention. He stuck his head out of a first story window near Olette and Roxas. The two teens stared at him, unable to move.

"Darn kids!" Cid shouted, actually shaking his fist at them. "More of you breaking into my house? That's it! I'm sending out the attack dogs!"

"You have to catch us first!" Roxas laughed, pulling Olette up to her feet suddenly. He sent a cocky smile at Cid, only causing the old man to get angrier. For once, Roxas was acting like Sora.

Olette and Roxas took off running, one laughing and the other regretting going to the lot at night in the first place. You can only guess who was doing what. Behind them they heard the barking of dogs. This caused both of them to run much faster than before.

"He actually _has_ attack dogs?" Olette yelled over the barking. She looked over her shoulder. Yup. They were attack dogs all right.

"What'd you expect?" Roxas laughed as he too caught a glimpse of the dogs chasing them over his shoulder. "It's not like he was going to chase us himself with a broom."

They finally reached the gate after crossing the large yard. Roxas helped Olette up and she managed to get over the gate. Roxas climbed up the gate in time to avoid being shredded to bits by Cid's attack dogs. He landed perfectly next to Olette on the other side of the gate. He turned back to face the gate and taunted the dogs.

Cid opened the front door, allowing the light from inside his house to light up his large yard. He had a broom in his hands and shook it violently in Olette and Roxas' direction. The two of them looked at each other, and then broke out into peals of laughter.

"Stupid kids! Stay out of my yard ya hear?" Cid shouted. He slammed his door shut.

Roxas went back to taunting the dogs. One of them barked loudly and lunged at the gate.

"Ah!" Roxas stumbled back. He turned on his heels and took off running. Olette chased after him. Both of them jumped over the fence and ran to the center field. They came to a stop and landed on their backs in the grass. Roxas was still laughing.

"Not exactly the night I was expecting," Olette said to herself.

"No kidding," Roxas chuckled. He suddenly looked like he remembered something. He sat up and pulled out something. "I believe this belongs to you." In his hand was Olette's baseball Cid took.

She stared at it in surprise. "But that was on the guy's coffee table," she said as she looked back up at Roxas. "How did you get it?"

Roxas looked at her strangely. "Coffee table?" He raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't on any coffee table. Cid had it, and I managed to swipe it from him."

Olette took the ball from Roxas and stared at it in her own hands.

_If that wasn't my ball, then whose was it?_

Back in Cid's house he returned indoors and entered his living room. He turned the light on. Cid tossed the broom aside and walked up to the coffee table. Sitting on top of it was a baseball. He smiled to himself and picked it up. Written on his baseball were the signatures of his old baseball teammates. The signatures were slightly faded, but Cid was able to make out each individual signature. He chuckled to himself and placed the ball on the bookshelf filled with the baseball picture.

"Those were the days," Cid chuckled as he turned off the light and left the living room.

In the center field of the lot, Olette and Roxas sat on the grass. Roxas had his arms crossed behind his head. Olette was staring at the stars hanging in the sky above her. She wasn't enjoying the scenery though. It was obvious on her face.

_It's now or never._

"Say Roxas…" Olette began.

He didn't respond. She looked over at him, and then frowned. Roxas fell asleep. She sighed to herself and looked back up at the sky. A smile appeared on her face. She crawled over to where Roxas was sleeping. She leaned in close to his ear.

"Roxas, I'll love you till the day I die," she whispered. She had a child like tone to her voice. Love, like, it was all the same to Olette. She stood up and brushed off her shorts. She sighed and frowned again. "Too bad Naminé beat me to it."

She ran up to the home plate and gathered up her things. She quickly left the lot, blushing at the fact that she actually confessed. At least technically. It only half counted since he was asleep when she did.

Roxas opened his eyes and smiled to himself. He watched Olette leave the lot out of the corner of his eye. He remained lying in the grass as he stared up at the sky.

"Maybe she didn't," he chuckled while running his fingers through his hair.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	10. Chapter 10

She didn't want to wake up from the dream. Her team of girls was surrounding her, cheering and congratulating her. Sora was in the corner, whining and crying for what he thought was his well-deserved kiss. He didn't deserve it though. Olette won the baseball game. Roxas rushed up to her, smiling.

"Congratulations," he laughed.

Olette smiled and tried not to blush. "Thanks Roxas."

"There's something I wanted to tell you," he laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. Olette was filled with sudden excitement. He was going to say it. He looked back at Olette and opened his mouth. "Wake up you lazy moron!"

Olette blinked, utterly confused. "Wha…?"

Naminé's voice came out of Roxas' mouth again. "Come on! Get your butt out of bed!"

The dream faded away. The cheering stopped, and the pair of sapphire eyes melted away as Olette opened up her eyes. A very irritated looking Naminé stood in front of her, the morning sunlight adding a blinding shine to her blonde hair. Olette groaned and stretched in her bed. She flipped over on her other side and pulled the covers over her head.

"Lemme sleep…"

"This is what you get for being out late last night," Naminé huffed while crossing her arms. She pouted down at her brunette friend. "Where were you anyway?"

Olette blushed under her blanket. "Nowhere."

Naminé huffed. She didn't believe Olette at all. But there was no use arguing with her. The two girls were still slightly mad at each other, but Naminé was trying to patch things up. Though she wasn't doing a good job so far.

"Olette, get your lazy butt out of bed," Naminé demanded again. She yanked the blanket away from Olette. The brunette groaned and held the pillow over her face. Naminé turned away and said aloofly, "Fine. Be late for school. See if I care."

Olette sat up quickly, the sleep completely leaving her tired body. "SCHOOL?" She lunged out of bed and dashed around her room in a blur. Naminé stared in a deadpanned expression as the Olette blur ran around her. "I'm gonna be laaaaaate!"

Olette hurried out the room. Naminé was left alone in the bedroom. She hurried over to the open window and peered out of it. She saw Olette ran out the door and out to the sidewalk. Olette was frazzled, still suffering from bed head and it was most likely she forgot to brush her teeth. She certainly didn't remember she needed to get dressed.

"Olette!" Naminé called, leaning out the window. "You're not wearing any pants!"

"OH NOOOO!"

- x – x – x – x -

The girls stared at her, studying her like she was some interesting experiment. Olette's eyes flickered to Kairi, Selphie, and Yuffie. They flinched and sent her anxious smiles. Olette sighed heavily.

"Why are you three watching me like that?" she inquired.

The girls were sitting at a table, enjoying the lunch they were eating in the school cafeteria. Well, at least Olette was trying to enjoy her lunch. It was difficult to do when her friends were boring gazes into her.

"I can't shake the feeling," Yuffie said, "that something is up with you."

Selphie winked teasingly at Olette. "Go on girl. What happened? You can tell us."

Olette blushed. She was starting to get real tired of that. "I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped, thus taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"Does it have anything to do with that Roxas boy?" Rikku squeaked, sitting next to Olette at the lunch table. Olette almost choked on her sandwich. When she finally started breathing normally again she sent Rikku a baffled look.

"What…how…" Olette was too shocked to speak in complete sentences.

"Well, you keep looking at him from across the cafeteria," Rikku admitted, smiling broadly at her. "I just figured, you know, it had something to do with him."

Olette looked back at Kairi, Selphie, and Yuffie sitting across the table from her. All three of them smiled toothy grins and leaned forward, wanting every detail Olette had to offer. Olette frowned and got up. She turned her back on her friends.

"Don't. Say. A word."

Olette threw her food away and left the table. Having a crush sucked.

- x – x – x – x -

"Come on, come on, come on!" Selphie urged. She poked Olette sharply in the shoulder for what had to be the fifth time. Olette narrowed her eyes more, trying desperately to ignore Selphie. The effort was futile. "Tell us! Was Rikku on to something?"

"Stop poking me," Olette mumbled. She sat on a bench just outside the school, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie sat with her on the bench as they too waited for the other members of their team. Selphie poked her again.

"Just ignore her Olette," Kairi laughed lightly. She leaned over Yuffie and Selphie and whispered to Olette, "You can tell me. What's up?"

Olette huffed loudly and pushed the three girls away. "Cut it out!" she snapped. "There is nothing, and I mean _nothing_, going on between me and–"

"Hey Olette!" Roxas called from across the campus. The four girls directed their blank faces in his direction. Roxas was waving at Olette enthusiastically. She smiled sheepishly, her cheeks turning slightly pink, and waved back with less enthusiasm. "See you at the lot!" he called from the far distance. He turned on his heels and took off.

Olette didn't want to look. But she knew she had to. She reluctantly turned her head slightly to face her friends. They were leaned out away from the bench so all three of them could get a good glimpse at Olette. The three of them sent her the same teasing smiles they did at lunch. Olette scowled. She quickly looked away when she felt her cheeks grow hotter.

"No!" she huffed. "I know what you're think and you're wrong!"

"Are we Olette?" Yuffie snickered.

Just as Olette was about to turn back around and send all three of them a punch to the mouth, Tifa, Fuu, and Rikku walked down the steps of the school. The three newcomers came to a halt in front of the bench.

Tifa hitched a suspicious eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?" she asked Olette.

"Hormones!" Selphie giggled. She stopped giggling when Olette punched her in the mouth.

- x – x – x – x -

"There they are!" Larxene laughed when she caught a glimpse of the six girls. They were off in the distance, just getting out of school. When they got onto the lot Larxene's laughter grew louder. "What happened to you?" she howled, pointing at Selphie.

Selphie scowled, holding her jaw in pain. "Don't ask," she growled.

Larxene got rid of her last bit of laughter and finally calmed herself down. She turned to Olette and placed her hands on her hips. "We're just missing one more person," she informed. "Miss Blondie."

Olette tilted her head. "Naminé?" Larxene nodded.

The boys were on the other side of the field, preparing themselves for today's game. Several boys were stretching in the grass, while the others were passing a ball back and forth. A breeze passed through the lot, light as a feather. Sora was one of the boys stretching while the girls waited for their last player to arrive. Sora looked over to where the girls stood, noticing Olette showed up today. He scoffed and turned back around.

"How much you want to bet she'll run off again?" Sora mocked among the other boys.

"Pressure must be getting to her," Tidus laughed rudely, tossing a baseball back and forth in his hands.

"Give her a break guys," Hayner sighed. He was lying down comfortably in the grass.

Seifer looked between Roxas and Olette quickly. He smirked at the other boys. "You guys want to hear something?" he whispered. He looked over his shoulder to where Roxas was standing behind him. "Guess what I saw last night?" Seifer questioned loudly so that Roxas could hear him.

The blonde pitcher took the bait. He looked up from where he was practicing and glanced over at Seifer. Roxas caught his smirk just in time.

"Don't worry!" Naminé called from the distance, waving her hand. "I'm here! I'm here!"

"We weren't going to start without you," Olette laughed. Naminé skidded to a halt by her best friend's side, smiling. She flipped golden strands of her hair out of her face.

"Let's tell the boys we're ready," Naminé chirped. She linked arms with Olette and dragged her over to the other side of the field. The other girls on the team trailed after them, unaware that Naminé meant just her and Olette.

All the girls stopped in their tracks with puzzled expressions when they approached the boys. They were in this deformed huddle, watching something in the middle. As it turned out, the boys were surrounding Seifer and Roxas. It seemed Seifer was telling an amusing story. Roxas' eyes flickered over to Olette for a split second. Something in his eyes told her neither of them was going to like what was going to come out of Seifer's mouth.

"I live around here, close to Cid's manor," Seifer said loudly for all to hear. "I heard some weird things going on at his place last night. So I came to this lot last night to check it out."

Olette groaned. _Oh no._

"It seemed last night Roxas over here was getting cozy with a girl," Seifer laughed. He pointed over to a spot in the centerfield. "Right there." The boys oohed. Roxas only shook his head, clearly unimpressed. Naminé gasped quietly next to Olette. This wasn't going to be good.

"You got it all wrong you idiot," Roxas sighed calmly. "Nothing like that happened."

"Don't interrupt me when I'm telling a story," Seifer whined. He went on. "It seemed last night Roxas was rendezvousing with a girl here late last night. They were star gazing together or something like that." Seifer smirked and took the time to glance over at Roxas. His evil smirk grew bigger. "Of course, maybe they were doing other things."

All the boys laughed rudely. This only caused Roxas to sigh again. He rubbed his forehead slowly, acting as if Seifer and the others were giving him a migraine. While Roxas was taking it calmly, Olette was freaking out where she stood. The last thing she needed was this to happen. Especially when Naminé was around.

Seifer tapped his chin. "Who was that girl?" A smirk appeared slowly on his face. "Oh yeah…it was her." He pointed right at Olette.

Several reactions among the groups changed. Rather than smiling like before, Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie all stared with hanging jaws at Olette. Sora stared in outrage. The girls remained silent, not really sure how to react. The other boys started laughing again while Roxas continued his head shaking. Naminé turned to Olette, jealousy and betrayal in her eyes.

"You twofaced, backstabbing, she-witch!" Naminé shouted, pointing accusingly at Olette.

Olette so did not need this.

Naminé turned on her heels suddenly, her hair flowing through the air in an angry frenzy, and dashed off. The poor girl felt betrayed by her one and only best friend. Naminé knew Olette liked Roxas, and this still happened? Olette only stared in shock as Naminé grew smaller and smaller in the distance. She honestly didn't expect this sort of reaction from Naminé.

"But I didn't do anything Naminé!" Olette shouted angrily up to her. Naminé didn't listen. She only left the lot, ran down the sidewalk, and turned the curb.

The girls all turned to face Seifer. They stared at him with pure hatred. One could almost feel the vicious vibes emanating from the group of girls that backed up Olette. Even the boys standing behind Seifer were smart enough to step down. Seifer stopped smirking and looked at the girls anxiously. He stepped back, holding his hands up in defense.

"What'd I do?" he laughed nervously.

"Because of you," Tifa snarled as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, "one of our players left! Good job you moron!"

Olette was about to get her fair share of insulting when Yuffie, Kairi, and Selphie suddenly grabbed her by the arms. They pulled her away from the rest of the group and dragged her off to the girls' dugout. They forced her to sit down on the bench and stood in front of her, the four of them now alone. The first thing Olette expected was all three of them to slap her simultaneously for somewhat collaborating with the 'enemy'. All she and Roxas did, though, was practice baseball together. That and get kidnapped. She certainly didn't expect the three girls' real reaction however.

"Why didn't you tell us?" they all asked loudly at once. Olette blinked.

"I knew it!" Selphie squealed girlishly. "So tell us, was Roxas romantic?"

"Was he smooth?" Kairi questioned, leaning in close along with Selphie. Olette jumped back a little.

"Was he a perverted jerk who went too far and I need to knock some sense into him?" Yuffie hissed, pushing Kairi and Selphie aside so that she could get right in Olette's face. The girl cracked her knuckles threateningly, demonstrating for Olette that she was willing to knock some sense into somebody.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Olette cried, causing the three other girls to jump back. "Nothing happened! He got kidnapped by Cid, I went in to save him, and he fell asleep in the centerfield!"

"And then you had your way with him when he feel asleep him right?" Selphie purred.

Olette's eye twitched. "Will you get your mind out of the gutter!"

Selphie winced. "Well, sorry!" she huffed, turning her back on Olette and crossing her arms.

"So that's it?" Kairi asked, sounding disappointed. "All you did was save him from some crazy old guy? Nothing else happened?"

Olette hesitated. She wasn't about tell them that she also took the time to confess to Roxas when he was asleep. The teasing would never stop if she did. _Ever_. Then again, the three of them were her friends. "Well…"

"Well?" All three of them leaned in again.

Olette frowned. "Never mind."

Selphie, Yuffie, and Kairi sighed in disappointment.

Olette hung her head. "Now my best friend hates me because she thinks I like the boy she likes," she said under her breath.

Kairi sat down next to her and placed a hand on Olette's shoulder. "Aw don't worry," the redhead laughed. "She'll be okay. If you two are really good friends she won't let a guy come between you two."

Olette wasn't convinced. Naminé could be hardheaded at times.

"Hey you girls!" Sora suddenly snapped. The four of them looked up to see Sora leaning against the wiring of the dugout. "There's no way to start this game without that blonde chick right? We've decided to go out and search for her. You coming?"

- x – x – x – x -

"Naminé!" Olette called as she searched every nook and cranny if Twilight Town. Both teams were currently searching for the girl. Olette was having no luck so far though. And now everyone was going to tease her afterwards about Roxas. That wasn't exactly something she was looking forward too. Plus there was the whole deal with Naminé. More than likely, Naminé was going to give her the cold shoulder. Olette walked into an alley. "Nami – oof!"

Olette walked right into somebody. She fell to the ground on her rear end. "Ouch…that hurt…"

"Watch out Olette," Roxas laughed.

Olette's green orbs widened suddenly. She snapped her head up and caught a glimpse of Roxas grinning down at her. She quickly jumped to her feet, hoping she didn't look too much like and idiot in front of him. She quickly wiped the dirt off her shorts and the wrinkles out of her orange tank top.

"I can tell you Naminé's not in this alley," he informed. Roxas stuffed his hand into his pockets.

Olette sighed, hanging her head. "Where did she go?" she whispered.

"Better keep searching," Roxas said, gesturing down the sidewalk with his head. Olette trailed after him. They walked down the sidewalk in silence for several minutes, one unable to say something to the other. "Why'd she run off like that?" Roxas finally spoke up, startling Olette. "And why did she call you a twofaced, backstabbing, she-witch?"

He came to a stop. Olette almost ran into him again. He turned around and looked at her seriously. Olette raised an eyebrow. Something wasn't right, causing her to become confused.

"Are you seriously that dense?" she asked. Roxas didn't respond. She sighed. "Because Naminé likes you."

Roxas looked surprised, like this was an unbelievable statement. "For real?"

"You're kidding right?" Olette laughed sarcastically. "You couldn't tell at all that Naminé liked you even remotely?"

"Some girls are pretty good at keeping their feelings a secret," Roxas responded. He flashed a soft smile at her.

Olette wasn't following. "Okay then…" She went back to searching for her friend. She brushed past Roxas. He was confusing her even more now. What was _that_ supposed to mean? As Olette walked down the sidewalk Roxas followed after her. He laughed again.

"So Naminé likes me huh?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets again. "That's too bad."

Olette sent him a side-glance. "Why's that?"

"I don't like Naminé like that," Roxas admitted.

She knew it was wrong and selfish of her, but those words were the best thing to ever come out of Roxas' mouth to Olette. Waves of selfish joy coarsed through her veins just from simply hearing those words. She tried to hide this though and remained calm. But she knew Naminé was going to be hurt when she found out. Olette's expression went blank. What was she talking about? Naminé was a lot tougher than that. She would get over Roxas easily.

Wow, Olette was right.

Roxas stopped again in his tracks just as about the two of them were going to turn the curb. He held Olette back and pointed around the curb. She peeked to see what he was pointing at. Naminé was sitting on the sidewalk, her back pressed against the wall of the building. She was sitting in front of a bakery, the most unsecluded place to hide. Why didn't Olette think of this place before? Naminé liked to think outside the box, and would obviously hide in a crowded place where anyone could find her. It was the last place someone would look. Naminé sniffed. She looked like she had been tearing up for a few minutes.

Olette gasped. She took a step forward suddenly. "Nam–"

Roxas grabbed Olette's arm and pulled her back around the curb. He placed his hand over her and shushed her. "Just watch," he whispered. They both peeked around the corner again. He pointed down the sidewalk. Hayner was in the distance, searching for Naminé as well. Olette gave Roxas an odd look. He winked at her and gestured back to Naminé.

The blonde girl sniffed again and rubbed her eye. "Why would you do that to me Olette?" she whined childishly. She pouted, staring into the abyss ahead of her. "I'll never forgive you!"

Olette rolled her eyes. Of all times to act like a drama queen, Naminé chose this moment. Down the street, Hayner finally noticed the blonde girl curled up in front of the bakery. He hurried down the sidewalk, running past the other citizens of Twilight Town. He slowed down and stopped in front of Naminé.

"Naminé was it?" Hayner wheezed, trying to catch his breath.

Naminé squeaked and looked up. She quickly rubbed her eyes and rid them of whatever tears were left. She looked back up at Hayner, this time with irritation.

"You're one of the boys from the team," Naminé hissed. "What do you want?"

"Everyone's looking for you," Hayner informed. He looked down at Naminé seriously. "Olette and Roxas too."

Naminé stared, looking confused. She frowned and looked away. "Yeah right."

"It's true," Hayner said. "Stop acting so childish."

Naminé looked back up at him, her jaw open in outrage. She looked like Hayner just bent over and slapped her in the face. Olette tried not to laugh at her reaction. Naminé took any verbal insult like it had been a physical attack.

"Excuse me?" Naminé spat.

Hayner stared at her. Then his expression softened and he gave her a teasing smile. He knelt down and held out his hand. "Just kidding!" he laughed. Naminé gazed at Hayner as he continued laughing.

Olette almost missed it. She would have too if she blinked. But she watched long enough to notice Naminé blushed after staring at Hayner for several more seconds. The blonde girl looked away with a pout, then took Hayner's hand with her own. He helped her up, holding on to her hand as Naminé slowly got back to her feet. Olette's jaw dropped. She quickly looked back up at Roxas, acting more surprised than him.

"Did…did you see that?" Olette gasped, referring to Naminé's blush. "She…!"

Roxas glanced down at her. He smiled broadly, almost cunningly at Olette. "Something tells me Naminé's going to be fine," he chuckled.

Olette only stared, still feeling confused. She knew Naminé would get over Roxas. Just…not that fast. Olette looked away from Roxas. She couldn't complain though. At least now that Naminé was out of the way Olette could concentrate on Roxas without the guilty feeling. Plus, she liked Hayner. It was a comforting thought to know Naminé picked someone decent.

"Better get back to the lot," Roxas said, nudging Olette lightly in the ribs with his elbow.

It snapped her out of her trance. But a second too late. Just as Roxas and Olette were about to turn around and head back, Naminé and Hayner came around the corner. All four of the teens stared at each other blankly. Olette did the first thing that came to mind. She smiled nervously at Naminé and waved.

"Hey," Olette laughed with a quivering voice.

Naminé stared with an expressionless face at Olette. The brunette wouldn't have blamed her if Naminé reached over and punched her on the nose. After not being fully honest with Naminé, Olette thought she deserved it. The deadpan gaze Naminé was giving her wasn't comforting to Olette. But instead of the blonde punching her with full force, Naminé suddenly flashed a small smile at Olette.

"Hey," Naminé replied.

It was a relief to Olette. She couldn't stand having her best friend mad at her. And at least now after all that, Naminé wasn't mad at Olette. Roxas and Hayner nodded a hello to each other.

"I'm sorry," Olette said.

Naminé nodded. "I am too."

"Aw, look at that," Hayner joked. "A sentimental moment. Quick Roxas, hand me a camera."

Olette rolled her eyes. Naminé, on the other hand, giggled. The brunette quickly looked at her best fiend curiously. Yep. Naminé was going to be just fine. Hayner and Naminé walked off, leaving Roxas and Olette by themselves. The blonde pitcher looked back down at Olette. She looked up and noticed he was giving her another soft smile. She could feel the very core of her heart melt suddenly. She wondered how she was able to act calmly around Roxas.

If his smile made her heart melt, she could only imagine what his pure blue eyes could do to her. She found out a second later when her green eyes flickered up to meet his blue ones. Whatever was left of her melted heart did a summersault when she looked into his eyes. Roxas seemed unaware about what he could do to Olette and spoke like everything was normal.

"Better get on with the game then," he laughed, turning back towards the direction of the lot.

His laugh. Roxas' laugh made butterflies go on a rampage in the pit of Olette's stomach. But the butterfly rampage wasn't a bad one. Though the feeling made Olette want to vomit slightly. Roxas looked back over his shoulder and glanced at Olette with his mesmerizing blue eyes. He gestured with his head to leave. Olette nodded as calmly as she could in agreement. Both of them went back to the lot in silence. The whole time, Olette was having an inner conflict. This baseball game suddenly got a lot more complicated. It was going be difficult for her to win if Roxas was going to be distracting her the whole time. Olette huffed to herself. She hated hormones.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x -

_**A/N – Sorry the chapter was so…boring. I had no inspiration for this one. I already used up all my good ideas for this story. So the next couple of chapters might be as boring as heck, what with me having no inspiration and all. Though encouragement might help my withered old brain come up with some more good ideas for this here story. Once again, my apologies for the incredibly boring chapter. **_


	11. Chapter 11

"I swear!" Sora huffed. Olette and Naminé stood in front of him. Olette rolled her eyes while Naminé sighed heavily. Sora's scolding wasn't much appreciated. "You both are a couple of drama queens!"

He turned around on his heels and began stomping away mumbling to himself. It was something about running away. Olette and Naminé gave each other a side-glance, along with an almost unnoticeable smile. The boys were on the other side of the lot, huddled up in a deep discussion. Roxas stood in the middle, an embarrassed pout on his face. The boys would laugh together every once in a while, causing Roxas to become more annoyed. Naminé giggled and turned to Olette.

"They must be teasing him," she said, smiling widely.

Olette nodded in agreement, unsure what else to say. She still felt slightly awkward with Naminé, their fight just recently passing. The other girls were waiting in their dugout for the two of them to hurry up. Naminé looked up sincerely at her best friend, her vast blue eyes mixed with multiple emotions. Guilt immediately washed over Olette and it took all her power to not break the eye contact.

"Let's be honest Olette," Naminé sighed. "You weren't all right with me liking Roxas were you?"

Olette didn't bother to hesitate. "Not at all." Naminé grinned, and Olette returned the smile. She had a question for her blonde friend as well. "You got over Roxas pretty quickly didn't you?"

Naminé grinned mischievously. She rubbed the back of her neck casually and looked up at the sky with her equally blue eyes. Olette knew, without even asking, that Naminé was only staring at the sky so she would avoid staring at Hayner.

"Well," the blonde began. "You can't let a boy come between a friendship." Naminé flashed Olette another wide smile.

"This coming from you?" Olette quipped with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

Naminé managed to laugh at the witty joke. "Okay, that was my fault," she admitted.

Olette felt guilty again suddenly. She couldn't let Naminé take all the blame. She uncrossed her arms and hung her head.

"This whole thing was partly my fault too," Olette admitted under her breath, too ashamed to make eye contact with her best friend. "I also let a boy come between our friendship."

"One more question!" Naminé chimed. She pulled Olette close, her arm wrapped around the brunette's shoulder. She had a teasing expression on her face as she brought Olette's ear close to her lips. "What are your exact feelings for Roxas?" the blonde whispered with her hand cupped around her mouth and mischief dripping from her hushed voice.

Naminé had a small smirk on her face, clearly visible to Olette. Olette's face turned red, and she refused to answer the question. Naminé pushed Olette away and snickered loudly. This only caused Olette's face to flush even more. Naminé turned back to her, still snickering to herself.

"It's okay," she laughed quietly, yet evilly. "You don't have to tell me if you want too." Naminé quickly turned her back on Olette. "Besides, I already know," she giggled inaudibly. Naminé turned back to Olette with a wide smile.

Olette held out her arms, offering a hug for Naminé. "Do you forgive me?" she laughed.

Naminé copied Olette's actions and held out her own arm in a hugging notion. "Only if you forgive me!"

With that said, the two best friends exchanged a friendly hug of forgiveness. Never again would Olette allow something as stupid as a crush on a boy come between her and Naminé. Even if that boy happened to be Roxas. Her and Naminé suddenly heard clapping come somewhere off from the side. Naminé and Olette quickly let go and stared at the girls standing in front of them. All the girls were clapping and smiling teasingly.

"What a beautiful moment," Yuffie teased, walking up to Olette and slapping her on the back. "If only I had a camera, then this would literally be a Kodak moment."

"Now that all that sentimental stuff is out of the way," Larxene spoke up excitedly, "let's play some baseball!"

Olette nodded in agreement. "Let's."

The girls were in the dugout. They surrounded their reliable captain, awaiting her command. Olette studied the faithful girls surrounding her. She wouldn't have gotten this far without them. She smiled confidently and began her speech.

"This is the fifth inning," the girls' captain spoke up. "And currently the boys have twelve points while we only have nine."

The girls booed simultaneously. Olette raised her hands to silence them. She smirked.

"But we're up," she said. "And if we work together we can strike the boys out and win this game. We only have four innings left so let's make their defeat a quick and painless one."

"That's no fun," Tifa chuckled.

Fuu nodded her head. "No fun."

"Aw, don't listen to Olette," Yuffie laughed as she faced the rest of her team. "She doesn't want to admit it because she's humble, but she wants us to defeat the boys as painfully and mercilessly as possible!"

The girls cheered loudly, a momentary celebration breaking out in the girls' dugout. Naminé smiled at Olette and nudged her in the side quickly. This was Naminé's way of congratulating Olette. Once the cheering died down Olette held out her hand. Naminé placed her own hand over Olette's, and then was soon followed by the others.

"Let's beat 'em team!" Olette commanded like the confident leader she wished she were.

"By the way," Larxene spoke up before the girls had a chance to pull back their hands and break the huddle. "What is the name of this team you created?"

The girls looked back at Olette, grinning expectantly. Olette could only shrug.

"We never came up with one," she answered.

"Then let's come up with one," Larxene suggested. She smirked. "After all, the boys have to know the name of the team that brought them to their defeat."

"Well, we can't go with our school team name," Selphie said. "After all, it's the name of the boys' team too."

All the girls on the Sunny Side softball team shuddered simultaneously. They uttered in unison, "The Sunny Side Key Blades."

Olette scrunched her face in equal disgust. "_That's_ your guys' team name?"

The softball girls all nodded their heads slowly. Larxene snorted and directed her attention to the boys' dugout across the field.

"Well, let them be the Key Blades," she said, turning back to the girls. "We'll have a better name. I'm thinking since we're all girls we can be the Vixens."

"I don't know," Kairi disagreed with music blasting in her ears. "That seems too uncreative since all of us are girls. We should have a different female related name, but one that wouldn't be too obvious."

Yuffie looked at Kairi. "The Harpies maybe?" she suggested.

"Ew," the other girls in the dugout drawled. Yuffie huffed and pouted.

The girls' dugout fell silent as ideas of team names floated about in each individual's mind. There were many possibilities for team names. Olette wanted the perfect name for her team though. Rikku suddenly snapped her fingers with her hand that wasn't in the middle with the other girls' hands.

"I got it!" Rikku squealed. The other girls looked at the small blonde, expecting something ridiculous to leave her lips. "We can be the Sirens," she continued happily. "They're Greek mythological women who lured sailors to their watery death by singing. They were women who were alluring, yet deadly dangerous." Rikku's smile grew and her eyes lit up. "Like us sort of!"

The girls in the huddle gaped at Rikku, completely silenced from shock. Yuffie cleared her throat and was the first one to talk.

"And…you remembered that?" she questioned.

Rikku nodded her head quickly. "Sure did! English is my favorite subject and I love to read!"

"You _read_?" Selphie gasped. Rikku nodded again. The girls gawked at her once again.

A smile tugged at the corner of Olette's lips. "All right then," she said, earning herself the attention of the surprised girls once more. "What do you think girls? Should we name our team after the alluring deadly women?"

The girls shouted a simultaneous agreement at her.

"Then we, the Sirens, will show those boys how to play baseball!" Olette said. "One two three–"

"Sirens!" the girls shouted, throwing their hands that had been in the middle up into the air. Their huddle had been broken and they descended to the outfield and infield.

"About time you girls got out here," Sora called as he headed over to the home plate. He held the bat up and readied himself.

Olette smirked from the pitcher's mound. "Better watch yourself Sora!"

The boy scoffed and rolled his eyes. Olette got into pitching position. The boys started cheering for Sora. But it wasn't enough to distract Olette. She was in a better mood than she had been in the last week. She brought her arm back swiftly, then chucked the ball out in front of her. Sora went to swing at the perfect ball Olette threw. However, he completely missed. The ball zoomed past his bat and into Tifa's glove.

"Strike one!" the girls' catcher called. The boys booed as Tifa threw the ball back at Olette. Sora's face turned red and he positioned his bat again.

So far so good. Being in a better mood helped out her baseball skills. Olette tossed the ball back and forth in her hands. It was obvious this made Sora annoyed. With great speed, Olette sent the ball flying at him. This time Sora didn't swing, noticing something else the others didn't, with the exception of Tifa.

"Ball one!" Tifa called out to the others.

The boys cheered from the dugout, and Olette retrieved the ball. The cheering helped out Sora, causing him to smirk. The girls weren't giving up so easily.

"Come on Olette!" Selphie encouraged from second base. "You can do it!"

The field fell silent as Olette and Sora stared each other down. She could almost feel the tension between them. After all of this, they still didn't like each other. And Olette was determined to make it obvious. She brought her right arm back, her pitching arm. She flung her arm out in front of her and let the ball slip out of her hand. She threw a curve ball straight towards home plate. Sora swung at it, but he swung a moment too late. He managed to hit the ball and it was sent bouncing on the ground. As it rolled off towards shortstop and third base area, Sora dashed off towards the first base. Naminé lunged at the ground ball. She landed in the dirt, causing dirt to fly all over the place. She scooped up the grounder and threw the ball over Olette's head.

Kairi stretched out her arm, welcoming the ball. Sora was just feet within reaching the base. The boys were cheering loudly, the girls shouting commands and words of encouragement. Olette watched as the ball landed perfectly in Kairi's glove and she tagged Sora out. It was the girls' turn to cheer. The boys jeered from their dugout.

"First out!" Tifa laughed, only making Sora scowl more.

"Honestly Kairi," he sighed.

Kairi sent him a sheepish smile as he headed off towards the boys' dugout. "Sorry," she called.

Olette couldn't help but smile. Just the first batter, and already they had an out. She continued smiling as Riku got up to bat. This was going to be an easy inning. Olette let herself get a little too cocky, and threw the ball at Riku. The silver haired boy didn't swing at it right away.

"Ball one!" Tifa judged, throwing the ball back at the girls' pitcher.

"Oops," Olette whispered when she caught the ball.

With a gesture of his head, Riku's hair flipped over his shoulder. He held the bat back over his shoulder. Olette swung her arm around in a complete circle. Her shoulder was beginning to cramp up. Her eyes flickered up to the sky momentarily. The clouds were growing a darker shade of grey. Olette swallowed and redirected her attention to Riku at home plate. Something told her that it was going to rain, and she didn't like that idea. Olette stretched out with her arm over her shoulder. She pushed forward and let the ball slip out of her hand. Riku swung the bat forward and hit the ball. The baseball fell out of the air and went rolling on the ground.

Riku tossed the bat aside and dashed straight for first base. Both Naminé and Fuu lunged at the ground ball. The ball slip past them, and the two girls only ended up crashing into each other. The ball went rolling into the left field, where Rikku was currently gazing up at the sky in a distracted daze.

"Rikku!" Yuffie shouted from her spot in the center field.

Rikku snapped out of her trance and glanced down at her feet. She bent down and scooped the ball up into her glove. She gave a weak toss and the ball flew into Naminé's glove. The blonde shortstop spun on her heels and faced the second base. Riku stood on second base, wearing a cocky grin and waving mockingly at Naminé. She frowned and tossed the ball back at Olette. The boys in the dugout cheered for Riku. Olette rolled her eyes and warmed up her arm as the next batter stepped on the home plate.

Roxas held the bat up and practice swung with it for a moment. When he and Olette made eye contact he smiled for her. Olette cleared her throat uncomfortably and tried to ignore the warmth in her cheeks. After swinging her arm for a moment, Olette threw the ball towards home plate. Roxas swung the bat and missed.

"Strike one!" Tifa called out after throwing the ball back at Olette. The boys shouted words of encouragement at Roxas.

Roxas tapped the tip of the bat against the home plate and held it above his shoulder once more. Olette tossed the ball back and forth in her hands. Riku stood on the second plate, preparing himself to make a run for it to third base. Olette positioned herself, and then tossed the ball forward. Roxas took another swing at the baseball. He missed a second time. The ball zoomed past his glove and landed in Tifa's glove behind him. The boys groaned loudly.

"Strike two!" Tifa shouted. She threw the ball back at Olette.

"Come on Roxas!" Sora demanded as he clung himself to the wiring of the boys' dugout. "At least _try_ to hit the ball!"

Roxas shook his head and rolled his eyes. He faced towards Olette and held the bat back up. Riku was getting impatient at second base. Olette got back into pitching position as Roxas got back into batting position. She threw her arm out and the ball slipped from her fingers. She sent the curve ball flying at Roxas. Perfectly timing it, Roxas swung the bat out and hit the ball with a loud _crack_. The ball went flying over the heads of the girls in the infield. Yuffie ran around out in the centerfield, trying to get exactly under the ball. Roxas headed towards first base as Riku took off towards the third plate. Olette turned on her heels and watched Yuffie in the center field.

Yuffie had finally positioned herself. She stood out in the centerfield with her gloved arm stretched out above herself. Roxas and Riku were just inches away from their targeted bases. The baseball fell out of the sky and hurtled towards Yuffie. The girl jumped up and her glove was met with the ball. Roxas skidded to a halt when he heard the girls cheering and the boys booing. Riku also stopped in his tracks and looked out at the centerfield. Yuffie stood triumphantly with the baseball in her hands. Riku turned back around and dashed back over to second base. Roxas shrugged and headed towards the boys' dugout. Yuffie threw the ball to Selphie, but Riku stepped back on the plate before she caught the ball. The ball returned to Olette.

"Second out!" Tifa bragged loudly to both teams.

Olette glanced over to the boys' dugout. It seemed Sora was throwing another tantrum as Roxas rolled his eyes annoyingly. The brunette cousin was scolding the blonde one for 'purposely getting out'. Olette shook her head and turned back to the home plate. Seifer was now at the home plate, already in batting position. Olette swung her arm back, and threw straight down the home plate. Seifer swung the bat with full force and hit the baseball. It went whistling through the air. Seifer and Riku took off running. Larxene ran after the ball as it continued down right field. Riku rounded third base and headed for home. Seifer had just stepped on to the first plate and kept going. Olette looked back out at the right field and saw Larxene had finally gotten a hold of the ball. She plucked it off the ground and tossed it over towards Selphie.

The boys' cheering grew louder. Olette glanced over her shoulder and saw Riku step on the home plate just in time. Seifer was dashing over to second base, Selphie's arm outstretched for the oncoming ball. Olette turned back to watch. Seifer slid in the dirt, causing a cloud of dust to form around him and Selphie. He touched the base just right before the ball hit Selphie's glove. Olette groaned and hung her head.

"Safe!" Tifa called from behind the home plate.

Hayner skipped out of the dugout, his fingers clenched tightly around the bat. When he stepped onto home plate he sent an enthusiastic wave at Olette. She gave him a tiny smile and waved back with less enthusiasm. Seifer prepared himself on second base as Olette caught the ball from Selphie. She took a deep breath, then swung her arm back. Hayner held the bat in position. A chilly breeze passed through the lot, signaling a change in weather. Olette noticed the grey color of the clouds had darkened. The clouds and breeze must have been a warning of some rain. With a gulp, Olette threw the ball in Hayner's direction.

Hayner hit the ball on his first swing. The ball was a grounder, and went rolling in the infield. He and Seifer took off. Both Selphie and Naminé went diving after the ball. They slid in the dirt, but only resulted in crashing into each other instead of catching the ball. Olette heard a simultaneous cackle break out in the boys' dugout. She tried not to scowl.

"Let's go you two!" Olette called from her spot on the pitcher's mound.

Hayner stepped onto first base and Seifer had already rounded the third plate. Naminé shook her head to clear her thoughts. As Selphie groaned from her spot in the dirt, the blonde shortstop grabbed the ball and hurried to her feet. Seifer was heading towards the home base. The lot was filled with cheering and screaming from both the boys and girls. Naminé brought back her arm and aimed. She mustered up all her strength and chucked the ball towards Tifa. Olette watched, prayed, and hoped. Seifer lunged forward and went sliding through the dirt again. Tifa held out her arm, waiting for the ball to land in her glove. Seifer caused another large cloud dust. It formed around the home plate. Both Seifer and the baseball disappeared behind the dust cloud. Everyone held their breath and waited. When the dust cleared, everyone saw Tifa with the ball in her glove and Seifer on home plate. Seifer looked irritated.

Tifa grinned and looked up at the awaiting players. "Third out!"

The girls broke out into a loud cheer. Groans were heard from the boys' dugout, accompanied by a sudden shrieking noise from Sora. Olette laughed and smiled widely. The girl in the outfield jumped and hurried over to the infield happily. The fifth inning was finally over and it was time to get the sixth inning started. Olette sighed to herself. Just four innings to go to determine whether or not she could join the boys team. Olette was starting to worry though. The boys already had thirteen points. Her team had only earned nine points. As Olette continued worrying to herself, she heard Sora call her name. She looked over her shoulder only to see the boys stalking towards her.

Sora came to a halt in front of her, frowning. He pointed up at the sky suddenly. "You see that?" he inquired sharply. "It's going to rain. Which mean–"

"We'll have to postpone the game," Olette groaned. "Again."

Everyone on the lot groaned loudly. It was starting to get old.

"And here I was hoping we could finish the game today."

"Not in the rain we won't," Sora told Olette. "I hate to say it, but we'll have to end the game right here and continue later."

Olette nodded in agreement. All with irritated facial expressions, the boys returned to their dugout. Olette turned back to her own team and shrugged her shoulders. A sigh of annoyance was shared among them. As the girls returned to their own dugout, Olette approached Naminé. The blonde looked at her best friend with confusion.

"You go on home without me," Olette said. "I have some errands I have to do for my mom today in town. I need to do them before it starts raining."

Naminé smiled and nodded. "Okay Ollie," she chimed, causing Olette to grimace. "Just hurry up before that rain starts. We wouldn't want you to get sick again would we?"

Olette frowned. "No. We wouldn't."

Olette waved goodbye to Naminé when they were out on the sidewalk. The blonde headed down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Olette glanced up at the sky. She had maybe an hour to finish the errands before the rain kicked up. She ran down the sidewalk, away from the empty lot.

"For crying out loud!" Olette shouted as she stomped her way through the rain, trudging through puddles on the sidewalk. Apparently, she miscalculated when the rain would start. It only took twenty minutes, and even then it hit with full force rather than starting with a gentle drizzle. Olette carried four large paper bags, all filled with groceries. Her scowling increased, Any longer and the rain was going to cause the paper bags to dissolve away in her arms.

Olette quickened her pace and hurried past a row of houses. The rain beat against her, challenging her to try and make it home through the storm. She was going to spill the groceries all over the sidewalk _and_ get sick again. She hated rain. Olette stopped and looked around for shelter, deciding to get out of the rain and wait for it to pass. On her right was a row of houses, some with awnings on their front porch. Maybe the owners wouldn't mind if she waited on their front porch?

The front doors on one of the houses burst open. Olette blinked in surprise as Roxas stuck his head out. His gaze landed on Olette, and he stared in equal confusion.

"I thought it was you Olette," Roxas called over the roar of the rain. "I saw you running in the rain through the window. You looked like you could use some help."

"A little bit," Olette called back. She sneezed suddenly. Great.

Roxas gestured towards the inside of his house with his head. "Come on! Get inside for now, at least until the rain passes."

Olette felt her cheeks warm up and only hoped Roxas wouldn't notice her blush through the rain. With reluctance, Olette nodded and rushed through the rain towards Roxas' house. What was the worse that could happen?

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x -

_**A/N – And FINALLY it's finished! -slams head on desk- I forced myself to get my lazy butt up and write this chapter for you guys. Finally, we got back to the baseball! Anyway, this story had almost 100 reviews so please review and help get this story to 100 reviews! Anyway, I have some bad news…I have officially deleted "10 Step to Being a Good Bodyguard". -avoids flaming arrows of anger- What can I say, I lost total interest in that story. BUT if anyone else wants to take that idea and make it their own then by all means, do it! You have my permission.**_

_**Also, I have a roxette fan forum and the link to it is on my FF profile. The only problem is that I only have, like, five members. So if you love roxette as much as I do then please please please go to my FF profile, click the link, and join my roxette fan forum! I get on daily so it would be nice to have a few more members who would get on daily as well. All righty then, this pointless Author's Note is officially over. Leave me some love and I'll see you guys later in the next chapter, when the drama REALLY starts to heat up! You'll see what I mean when chapter 12 comes out. Ciao for now! **_


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N – All right! This story is sooo close to 100 reviews! Just a few more! And I got two more new members on my roxette forum. Come on guys! You know you want to join it! -wink wink-**_

_**And before I forget, for those of you who actually liked my fanfic "10 Steps to Being a Good Bodyguard" someone has decided to take it into their own hands! Because she's so awesome, Bexmar has agreed to continue the story and make it better. So if you still want to know what would have happened, go to her profile when she posts it up. Thanks Bexmar!**_

_**Also a big thank you to waraenai for helping me by suggesting some ideas for this fanfic. I didn't use her exact ideas, but her ideas are the root origin for what I came up with. Thanks waraenai!**_

_**PREPARE YOURSELF FOR WHAT LIES AHEAD…**_

- x - x - x - x -

"What were you doing running around in the rain?" Roxas asked as the two sat in the kitchen. Olette rested the bags on the countertop and sat herself in a stool. Roxas was rummaging around in the refrigerator, his back turned to the girl.

"I went to go get groceries for my parents," Olette explained, wringing out one of her thick locks of hair. Droplets splashed in little pitter-patters on the counter. She quickly dried it off with the palm of her hand.

"You thirsty?" Roxas questioned, his head still stuck in the refrigerator.

"Despite all the rain I was just drowning in," Olette giggled. "Yes, I wouldn't mind something to drink. If _you_ don't mind that is."

The next thing Olette knew, a soda was being thrown at her. She caught the can before it smacked her in the face. Roxas took a sip from his own can, smirking at her. Olette's can hissed when she popped it open. She watched the fizzies dance in and out of the can. The two sat in blissful silence as they drank away at their sodas in the kitchen. Their moment of silence was interrupted by a sudden eruption. Olette flickered her eyes to the window just in time to see lighting in the sky.

"Wow," Roxas said. "It turned into a thunderstorm."

Olette turned back around to look at him. "How long do you think it'll be before I can get home?"

Roxas shrug. "Not sure," he replied. "Do you want to call your mom to let her know you're okay?"

"I don't think it's safe to make a call during a storm," Olette disagreed as she followed Roxas out of the kitchen.

They descended into the narrow hallway with a flight of stairs leading to the second floor. While the living room the hall lead to and the kitchen were flooding with light, the upstairs was dark and filled with shadows. Roxas and Olette stopped at the bottom of the stairs, the boy's hands in his pockets after abandoning his soda in the kitchen. Olette took a quick sip from the can still in her hand. Thunder exploded in the air around them, causing Olette to jump suddenly. The can slipped from her hand and fell to the carpeted floor. The sticky soda seeped into the carpet. Roxas and Olette stared down at it, one with wide green eyes and the other with uncaring sapphire orbs.

"I'm sorry!" Olette squeaked.

"It's fine," Roxas said as he bent down with Olette to grab the can. "Axel might throw a fit, but he'll get over it."

Olette reached for the can with Roxas. Seeing as how she was first to grasp the soda can, Roxas' hand only ended up on top of hers. She could almost feel the color rush to her cheeks. Quickly, Olette pulled her hand away. With a raised eyebrow, Roxas handed Olette the now empty can. They remained knelt at the bottom of the stairs, both locking eyes. A moment that lasted too uncomfortably long for Olette.

"Gee Roxas," an unfamiliar, older sounding voice sighed mockingly from the top of the stairs. The young teens broke their gaze and glanced up to see who was hovering above them. Roxas furrowed his brow. Olette merely tilted her head. Leaning against the railing of the stairs near the top was a young man, staring down at Olette and Roxas with teasing teal eyes. He had bristly red hair poking out all over the place. The man's complexion was pale, and his build was lanky. "You should have told me you were bringing your girlfriend over, then I would have given you two some alone time." The man winked suggestively at Roxas, who rolled his eyes.

Olette ignored the girlfriend comment, despite her never-ending series of blushing, and glanced back at Roxas. "Um…"

"He–" Roxas gestured towards the fire-headed man, who was still smirking at him and Olette, with his head. "–is my guardian, Axel."

Olette looked back up at the red haired man named Axel. He sent her another one of his chilling smirks and nodded. "How you doin'?"

Both Roxas and Olette got back to their feet. In one swift movement, Axel was down the stairs and in between Olette and Roxas, his arms wrapped around both of them. Olette coughed uncomfortably while Roxas groaned in agitation.

"So you're my little godson's girlfriend?" Axel snickered, tightening his hold on the two.

"No," Roxas grunted as he slipped away from Axel's hold. "She's just a friend. I caught her in the rain."

"It's…nice to meet you," Olette said quietly, trying not to squirm under his touch. She forced a smile for Axel. The mischievousness did not leave his face.

"The same to you dear," Axel said slyly. "It's a good thing for Roxas that you're cute."

Olette cleared her throat as Roxas sent his guardian an irritated look.

"Axel, cut it out," Roxas snapped. "And get your arm off her."

"All right, all right," Axel sighed while removing his arm from Olette's shoulders. She glanced nervously between the two males. "No need to get jealous over your non-girlfriend."

Olette felt like rolling her eyes as well. For a guardian, this Axel person didn't act very mature. If anything, Roxas was more mature. Heck, even _Sora_ acted more mature than Axel was right now. And that was saying something. Olette shuddered at the thought.

"Shut up Axel," Roxas groaned, thunder exploding in the background. Lightning filled the sky.

"So then who's this girl you keep going on abo–" Axel was cut off when Roxas suddenly stomped on the man's foot. Olette stared in shock. "OUCH!"

"Come on Olette," Roxas grumbled, dragging Olette away. Axel stumbled around in pain.

"Don't get fresh you two!" Axel was able to call with only an ounce of pain in his voice. Olette could have sworn she heard Roxas growl.

"Ignore him," Roxas murmured when the two entered the living room. Olette sat down on the couch as Roxas leaned against its armrest. He had his arms crossed over his chest. "He might be my guardian, but he still enjoys tormenting me."

Olette smiled sheepishly for him. "I liked him," she lied. If anything, Axel kind of scared her.

"You did?" Axel squealed, popping up from behind the couch suddenly. Roxas and Olette screamed, a mixture of shock and horror. "How sweet are you?" Axel went on cooing, pulling at Olette's cheek.

"Get out of here Axel!" Roxas shouted as he pushed against Axel's back. He led his guardian towards the arch that led into the hallway.

"Well, if you just wanted to be alone with her why didn't you say so?" Axel chimed with a singsong voice, only irritating Roxas more.

"Axel!"

"What the heck is with all the yelling?" Sora's voice snapped. He appeared under the arch, blocking Roxas' attempt to rid him and Olette of Axel. The young spiky haired brunette crossed his arms to make sure the other two knew he was agitated with all the yelling. Now another burden was added to the mix.

Sora and Olette made eye contact. Her eye twitched while Sora's blue eyes went wide. He pointed dramatically at the girl, causing both Roxas and Axel to look back and forth between them.

"What the heck is _she_ doing here?" Sora demanded, his tone both surprised and outraged.

"What about you?" Olette fired back. "I thought you lived with _your parents_!"

"Oh, Sora?" Axel laughed, making Roxas go deadpan. "His mom likes him spending time with his cousin so he spends the night over at our house every so often, and vice versa."

Axel smiled, the only one in the room oozing out positive aura. The other three had tension gushing from them.

"The night I chose to come over too…" Sora grumbled, keeping his arms crossed. He pouted at the ground.

"I couldn't leave her outside," Roxas told his cousin. "She would have gotten sick again."

Sora shot Roxas and annoyed glance. Roxas returned the look.

"How romantic of Roxas," Axel teased, snickering all the while.

"Get out, get out, get out!" Roxas ordered as he now pushed away both his guardian and his cousin. Olette was left in the living room by herself, basking in her confusion.

"What a strange family…" she whispered. Her whispering was drowned out by the sound of more thunder blasting loudly outside. The wind whistled as the storm continued. Olette glanced outside quickly. "Maybe I should call my mom."

Olette got up to find the phone. There was a crack, a fizz, a yelp, and then nothing but black. Olette stumbled over her own feet as the power died. The house was drowned in shadows and darkness. The brunette girl balanced herself on the couch. She stood firmly back on her feet. She tried peering through the dark, but couldn't make out anything. She could barely see her own hand in front of her face.

"Hey Olette?" she heard Roxas call from the other room. As lighting flashed in the sky, she was able to get a glimpse of Roxas hurry into the room. "You okay? I heard you scream."

"Roxas?" Olette held out her arms. She couldn't see where she was going, but continued blindly forward. Now was the moment she could have used some lightning. "What happened?"

"I think the power got cut off by the storm," Roxas' voice called out. "But it's okay because I found a–"

"AAAHHH!"

Olette cut off Roxas with her screaming. She had blindly run into something full force. Whatever she smacked into grunted as she tumbled to the floor. Olette yelped again when she landed on top of something warm and squishy. She ended up bruising her knee in the process, and was currently suffocating seeing as how she had her face buried into whatever slightly broke her fall. Lightning flashed again, but Olette didn't look up to see anything. Instead, she blew a strand of hair out of her face. She heard Roxas groan in pain. A light flickered on suddenly, and the first thing Olette got a glimpse of was Roxas' irritated expression, his face just centimeters from her. In his hand was a yellow flashlight, pointed up at the ceiling.

"I found a flashlight," Roxas deadpanned, still staring annoyingly at Olette.

Olette's cheeks tinted pink slightly, from both embarrassment and obvious reasons. Thunder and lightning danced about in the stormy sky outside as Olette and Roxas shared a long stare. She tried to ignore the heat in her face and get her brain to function properly once more. The sudden incident, however, had Olette's brain on the frits. She never realized just how warm Roxas could be on a stormy evening such as this. He didn't complain either, urge her to get off him. Instead he just continued looking deep into her emerald pools. Suddenly, the embarrassment and humiliation drifted from Olette, leaving nothing more than unadulterated bliss and curiosity. Her eyes flickered down to Roxas' lips momentarily. She started to wonder if they would feel soft, especially against hers.

Without realizing what she was doing, Olette tilted her head down a bit. Roxas lifted his head slightly, closing his eyes. The thunder outside was their music, and the lighting their light show. Olette drew in a quick breath, preparing herself.

"Roxas and Olette are making kissy faces!" Axel giggled childishly as he popped up once again from behind the couch, pointing a lit flashlight directly at his face. The light made the mischievous smirk on his face clear to the two teens still sprawled out on the carpeted floor. Olette yelped at the sudden interruption and jerked up. She rolled off Roxas, her hand plastered over her mouth in a desperate attempt to shield her red face from the fire-haired man. Axel kept the light of the flashlight on his face as his teasing and giggling continued.

Roxas sat up, growling. The blonde boy sent his guardian death rays that Olette could practically feel. Axel made a kissy face of his own, tormenting the two even more. Roxas almost burst a blood vessel. Axel's actions only added more color to Olette's cheeks.

"Kissy faces! Kissy faces! Kissy faces!"

"Axel!" Roxas shouted, now on his feet. He lunged over the couch, trying to get at Axel. With another giggle, Axel dodged and skipped out of the room. Roxas plopped to the floor, defeated.

"Get back here Axel!" Roxas snarled. He scrambled back to his feet and attempted to charge after his guardian. Instead, he only ended up running into the wall next to the arch. Roxas fell to the floor with a loud _thump_. Olette heard him groan in pain from what had to be a painful collision. "Dang it…"

Olette remained on the other side of the couch, fuming with anger and basking in her embarrassment. The flashlight Roxas had was now turned off and lying somewhere on the floor in the dark living room. Olette groaned inwardly. She would have been able to have her first kiss, if Axel didn't interrupt. If he had just waited a few more seconds – when Olette's lips weren't just centimeters away from Roxas' own lips! But no. Her moment of happiness just _had_ to be shattered into a million pieces. All because Roxas had an immature guardian. Olette slapped herself to rid herself of anymore negative thoughts.

Olette heard Roxas shuffle from where he fell. After a moment of scampering, a warm hand was placed over her own. The color returned to her face.

"That you Olette?" Roxas asked, searching blindly with his hand still on hers.

Olette withdrew her hand in fear of imploding from selfish delight. "Y-Yeah."

"Aw man, where did I drop that flashlight?" Roxas sighed. He began searching the floor with his hand.

Olette squealed in surprise. "That _is not_ your flashlight!"

"Oops…Sorry," Roxas laughed embarrassingly. He cleared his throat and continued looking.

"Yo Axel!" both of them heard Sora's voice yell from upstairs. "What the heck happened to the – ARG!"

A series of loud noises consisting of thumping, thudding, and banging followed after Sora's yell. There was one after another as he continued falling down the stairs. The epidemic ended when Sora finally hit the floor at the bottom of the flight of stairs. A moan wafted from the hall into the living room as Sora writhed in pain. Olette tried to stifle her laughter, but to no avail. Both she and Roxas burst out into laughter. If only the light had been on, then both of them would have been able to see the hilarious sight. A growl followed after Sora's moan of pain. Clearly, he knew what the two were laughing about.

"What happened to the power!" Sora shouted to no one in particular, obviously in more anger than pain.

"Don't go downstairs Sora!" Axel snickered loudly from somewhere in the house, most likely the kitchen. "Roxas and Olette want to be alone so they can continue making kissy faces with each other!" Olette heard Axel giggle once more with a mischievous touch to it. Rather than becoming embarrassed, she frowned. She was ready to deck Axel in the face.

"You don't say," Sora snickered from his spot at the bottom of the stairs.

"You two better cut it out!" Roxas ordered threateningly, his voice somewhere above Olette. He must have gotten back on feet again.

And then there was silence. An eerie silence. Not to mention the sudden abundance of light seeping through the raindrop decorated window. Roxas and Olette directed their attention to the window that showed them the outside world. The heavy storm and dark sky faded away into the abyss, leaving nothing more behind except a small drizzle and the few lingering grey clouds. Behind the clouds a glimmer of orange could be seen, the regular Twilight Town sky. With a whooshing sound, the power came back on. Olette saw Sora sprawled out on the floor in an odd angle. She broke out into a fit of laughter again. Sora looked over at her and scowled.

"It's not funny!" he whined, getting up. He rubbed his arm with a pout. "It actually hurts…" He stormed out of the hall to join Axel in the kitchen.

Olette's laughing died down to nothing more then muffled giggles. Roxas looked over his shoulder down at her. When the two locked eyes, she could feel the blush return to her face. Roxas' pale face turned pink as well. He held out his hand for Olette, avoiding her eyes.

"I guess you can go home now," he muttered, his eyes glued to the floor.

Also avoiding his gaze, Olette took his hand in hers. "I guess." Roxas helped Olette up.

The blonde boy cleared his throat and walked Olette to the kitchen. There on the counter sat the grocery bags she had brought with her. Roxas handed her them, still trying to avoid her gaze. Axel sat behind the counter with Sora, both chugging down on a soda. Olette couldn't help but notice the smirk behind Axel's can. Roxas seemed to notice as well and turned away with a huff. He stomped out of the kitchen with Olette trailing behind him. She looked back over her shoulder to get one last glimpse of Axel. He smiled sweetly and gave her an enthusiastic wave. Olette forced a smile for him. Frankly, she was too annoyed with him to actually be sincere.

Roxas held the front door opened for Olette. She gave him a tiny grin, which Roxas returned. She had one foot out the door before she turned back to him. A certain light seemed to be shining on Roxas, which didn't help with Olette's nerves.

"So…" she started clumsily. "I'll…see you tomorrow."

Roxas nodded. "See you tomorrow." He gave her another smile before she turned back around. Olette was surprised Roxas couldn't hear the sound of her heartbeat. Heck, they could have heard it all the way in Hollow Bastion! She thanked that Roxas was deaf.

Olette heard the door click behind her as she walked down the stairs. A sigh escaped her pale lips. Lips that weren't kissed! Olette groaned. The next time she saw Axel, she was giving him a good kick in the–

She splashed through a puddle, interrupting her reverie. She seemed to be getting interrupted a lot today. She had put some distance between her and Roxas' house. She looked over her shoulder just to see how far she walked down the sidewalk. A frown perched itself on her face. She was _so_ close. And she could have sworn Roxas was taking the dive too. She huffed, determination on her face. She had to take a risk. She could challenge the whole boys' baseball team, but not tell a boy how she felt? That's not the Olette she knew! She dropped her grocery bags. The brown paper bags splashed in the puddle of water, getting Olette's feet wet. She didn't care; instead she spun on her heels and ran down the sidewalk towards Roxas' house.

She flew up the small flight of steps. She stood in front of the large oak door, the only thing separating her from Roxas. Not to mention his annoying relatives. With the best confident face she could pull, Olette knocked on the front door. After waiting another moment the door creaked open. She hadn't exactly contemplated on what she was going to say. If anything, Olette wasn't going to say anything at all. After all, actions speak louder than words. So that's what she did, she acted. As soon as the door opened, Olette reached forward and grabbed the collar of a shirt. She pulled the boy forward and without so much as thinking about what she was doing, Olette plastered a kiss on him.

It felt like a dream, especially when she peered into the wide blue eyes while the kiss was still happening. At first, Olette was enjoying herself. And then she noticed the thorny brown hair that overlapped the familiar blue eyes. Olette cursed into Sora's mouth, only making the nauseating experience even worse. The situation didn't get better when Roxas walked into the hall.

"Hey Sora," Roxas said, still unaware of what was happening. "What do you think about–"

Roxas stopped mid sentence and froze where he was behind Sora. He stared in shock at his cousin kissing Olette. Her green eyes widened in horror at the realization. Things hadn't gone as according to plan as Olette had hoped. She figured Roxas would be the one to open the door – be the one to share a kiss with Olette. Not Sora. She pulled her lips away from Sora and gasped. Olette stumbled backwards down the porch stairs, but somehow managed to keep her balance.

Sora snickered, acting rather calm about the situation. "Jeez Olette," he laughed sadistically. "If you couldn't have waited until you lost the game, you should have just said so."

With one more terrified glance at Sora and Roxas, Olette spun on her heels and dashed down the sidewalk with her arms flailing about above her head and screaming all the while.

"OHMYGAWD!" Olette wailed rather comically with tears practically gushing out of her eyes as she hurried down the sidewalk with thrashing limbs. Roxas and Sora wondered how she could even run so gracefully with that many flailing limbs getting in her way. They could hear Olette's wailing as she rounded the curb, leaving her grocery bags to get soggy in the puddle.

Sora forced a small anxious grin on his face. He didn't want to, but slowly turned to look at his cousin. Roxas' eyes flickered to Sora. If looks killed, Roxas would have glared Sora dead. Sora chuckled nervously.

"So…that was…interesting…" the brunette cousin chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. He had never seen his blonde cousin truly angry, and he wasn't about ready to see that.

Roxas clenched his fists tightly, sending yet another dark glare at his cousin. "Sora…" Roxas snarled through gritted teeth. The next thing Sora knew, he was tackled to the floor with Roxas trying to strangle him while pinning him to the ground.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	13. Chapter 13

- x - x - x - x -

_Dedicated to wa r a e nai_

_The 100__th__ reviewer_

_Lots of love, darling_

- x - x - x - x -

Roxas and Sora struggled on the ground, one trying to strangle the living daylights out of his cousin while the other struggled to live. Roxas had only successfully gotten one hand clenched around Sora's neck. His other arm was being held back by the brunette as he struggled to live on. No way was Sora going to die by the hands of his cousin. Especially since he really didn't do anything. The boys continued rolling about on the floor, struggling and grunting. Axel descended into the hall. The storm had just stopped, so the fire haired man had expected some peace and quiet. He went to investigate why in fact the house was not peaceful and quiet. He skidded to a halt just as Roxas and Sora rolled by. Hatred was emanating from the blonde boy while Sora's face turned blue.

"Dare I ask what's going on?" Axel shouted over the yelling of the two younger boys. His scolding fell on deaf ears. Roxas rolled over on top of Sora once more. Sora's foot kicked out and slammed the open front door shut. With a frown, Axel plucked Roxas off his cousin. Sora sat up, gasping like a fish out of water. Roxas flailed about in Axel's grip, his feet hanging several inches above the floor.

"Let go of me Axel!" Roxas snarled, trying to wriggle his way out.

"What's going on you two?" Axel demanded. He glanced down at Sora, who was still wheezing for breath. "Roxas never acts this way, so I'm guessing I have you to blame."

Sora's jaw dropped. "What?" he snapped. "For once, I'm not to blame!"

"Liar," Roxas hissed. He had finally calmed down and stopped thrashing. He hung limp in the air, Axel still holding him up. The redhead did not let go of his godson in fear that Roxas would attack Sora again. "Why don't you tell Axel exactly what happened."

Axel looked back down at Sora with a raised eyebrow. Sora rolled his eyes and leered up at Axel.

"He's just upset because Olette kissed me instead of him," Sora snickered.

The thrashing began once more. It was most indeed a good thing Axel didn't let go of Roxas.

"That's not how it is!" Roxas snapped, flailing his limbs here and there. Sora scooted back away from him and Axel. "You kissed her, I saw it!"

Sora scoffed. "Dude, Roxas, I didn't kiss her. Hate to break it to you, but Olette kissed me."

Roxas stopped his thrashing long enough to send his cousin a dirty look. The tension in the room thickened to the point where Axel could take a knife and slice it. Carefully, he set his godson down. Luckily, Roxas didn't go lunging at Sora like Axel had predicted.

"Besides, why would Sora kiss another girl?" Axel cut in. "We all know he has thehots forKairi."

Sora snapped his head in Axel's direction, his face turning red. "W-what? That's not true!" he stammered. He looked back over at his cousin, ignoring Axel's snickering. "But you know what is true? That Olette was the one who kissed me and not the other way around!"

"No way," Roxas said, only making his cousin smirk in satisfaction. "There is _no way_ Olette would kiss you."

"Are you jealous?" Sora chortled, pointing at his cousin and holding his sides.

Roxas' cheeks tinged pink. He remained silent as he balled up his fists. "No!"

Axel snickered and looked at Roxas. "Yeah right. Don't tell me you attacked Sora just because you were defending Olette's honor," the guardian mocked.

"No way man," Sora snickered. "He's definitely jealous."

Both Axel and Sora broke out into simultaneous cackling. They made fun of whatever fragment of dignity Roxas had left. The blonde tinged pink slightly, and pouted at his laughing relatives. He curled up his fists and darkened his pout, but the pink refused to leave his face. The light blush only made Axel and Sora laugh louder.

"I was defending Olette's honor!" Roxas lied with an irritated voice. "Sora forced himself on her!"

Sora sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "For the last time, _I_ didn't force myself on her, _she_ forced herself on me." Sora opened up his sky-blue eyes. Shock exploded onto his face. "AAAHHH!"

Roxas had lunged at Sora and pinned him to the floor once more. He sat on top of his cousin, grabbing at Sora's neck. The brunette used all his might to hold back Roxas' fury. Axel merely hovered above the two boys as their fight continued. The redhead shook his head disapprovingly, sighing all the while.

"Teenagers and their raging hormones," Axel muttered under his breath.

- x - x - x - x -

Kairi had decided to take a relaxing walk around Twilight Town. All she could hear was the blare of her music, Flyleaf shouting in her ear. She bounced her head to the beat, moving her lips silently to the words of the song. The young strawberry haired girl was much too immersed in her music to notice a thrashing blur run around the corner. It was only when the two collided did Kairi realize she wasn't alone on the streets of Twilight Town. She landed on her rear end, her fingers clenched tight around her iPod. Kairi shook her head and glared at whomever it was that ran into her. The annoyance left her face when she saw Olette lying dizzily on the sidewalk, her cheeks tear stained.

"Olette?" Kairi asked as she crawled over to the brunette girl. "Are you okay? Are you crying?"

Olette shook her head while groaning. She looked up at Kairi with watery emerald eyes.

"WAH!" came her reply as she wrapped her arms tightly around Kairi. The poor redhead began to suffocate as she placed a comforting hand on the top of Olette's head. "Kairi, I d-did something st-stupid! Wah!" Olette wailed into Kairi's shirt.

The two teenaged girls sat on the curb. Olette's arms were wrapped around her legs as her sniffling continued. Kairi had finally managed to calm her down. Olette was no longer wailing uncontrollably, but merely sniffling to herself. The brunette wiped her nose with the back of her hand and kept her eyes glued to her feet. Kairi sat next to her, watching Olette intently. With a sigh, Kairi turned her iPod off and pulled the ear buds out of her ears.

"Okay, tell me what's wrong Olette," Kairi urged as she put her music player in her pocket.

Olette gasped. "Kairi! You turned your iPod _off_!"

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Why does everyone overreact when that happens?" She shook her head.

Olette took a deep breath to begin her story. In the end, it all came out as one, long, ridiculously fast sentence, "I ended up in Roxas' house during the storm, and we almost kissed but his guardian interrupted us, so I left his house without kissing Roxas, but I decided to go back and kiss him because I thought it would be a bold move, so when I got there I kissed him, except it wasn't Roxas I kissed, instead I kissed Sora, which is really gross because why would anyone want to kiss him, and it's only worse because that means my first kiss was with Sora, and then Sora was being mean about it and Roxas didn't say anything, and I ran away and now I think Roxas hates me."

Olette looked at Kairi when she finished her story. Kairi stared with a blank expression. She blinked, then slightly shook her head.

"What?"

"I said–"

"Ah, never mind. I heard you." Kairi sighed, and sent a small smile in Olette's direction. "You said it was an accident. Kissing Sora I mean."

Olette blinked. "Oh, um, I didn't mean it when it happened!" she began nervously. "I don't like Sora at all, and I never would because I know that you like him."

Kairi's face turned crimson. "Huh? I don't like Sora. Ha ha…" she lied. Olette looked unconvinced. Kairi cleared her throat. "So, ah, you're worried Roxas hates you?"

Olette nodded.

"But why?"

There was an awkward silence when Olette refused to explain why.

"Hmm, never mind," Kairi said slyly, giving Olette a teasing smile. This earned no change in mood from Olette. Well, slightly. Rather than sniffling, Olette glared deeply at the redhead sitting beside her. This, however, only caused Kairi to giggle evilly.

"Anyway!" Olette growled, huffing and looking away from Kairi. "What do you think I should do?"

"Hmm…" Kairi tapped her chin in thought and stared up at the darkening sky. It was growing late as the two continued idling on the curb. Kairi looked back at Olette with a warm smile. "Tell Roxas the truth."

"You mean Sora, right?" Olette laughed anxiously, pointing a limp fingering at her friend. She prayed that Kairi was just trying to be funny.

The redhead got up and stretched. She pulled her iPod back out and glanced down at Olette. Kairi grinned. "No. I mean Roxas," she said as she stuck an ear bud in her ear. Soon, Olette could hear a song playing loudly in the girl's ear. Kairi waved and turned her back on Olette. She continued her walk down the sidewalk.

Olette remained sitting in her little spot on the edge of the sidewalk. Her hands rested on her knees as she stared dumbstruck after Kairi. The redhead swiveled her hips to the music as she rounded the curb. Olette narrowed her eyes.

"Kairi has a terrible sense of humor."

There was always Naminé.

- x - x - x - x -

"Olette!" Naminé gasped. The crying brunette remained in her arms, balling her eyes out. "Calm down, please!"

"What am I gonna do Naminé?" Olette hiccupped into Naminé's lap, staining her dress with salty tears.

"I could always go beat up Sora for you," Naminé chimed, but deep down burned with anger at the spiky haired baseball captain. Anyone who made her little Ollie cried deserved to die a slow, painful, and merciless death.

"WAH!"

"Okay, okay! I won't do that!"

Olette sniffled, wiped her nose, and looked up at Naminé. "Can I help you beat him up?"

Naminé smiled and nodded. She stroked Olette's hair as the sniffling continued. "Of course you can Ollie."

Naminé knew the real reason as to why her best friend was crying though. Part of it might have been because she lost her first kiss to the likes of Sora. But then again, Naminé knew it was because of something else. Another reason why Olette was drowning the world with her tears. She stared off into the abyss with solemn eyes. _Roxas…_

Olette had just realized Naminé used the forbidden nickname on her. She growled. "Naminé!"

There was the Olette Naminé knew.

- x - x - x - x -

Olette went through school, trying to avoid Sora. Also trying partially to avoid Roxas. She wasn't sure why, but she had this feeling that he didn't want to see her. As to the reason why she figured he officially hated her now, Olette would never know. She was at her locker, rummaging through it for the books she need. She heard chatter and laughter from the other end. After peering from behind the locker door she saw the laughter came from some boys on the baseball team. Olette squeaked and stuck her head in the locker in a pathetic attempt to hide. Knowing Sora, he probably went to the boys and bragged about how she kissed him. Olette groaned when the boys neared.

To her surprise, they walked by without so much as a comment or a snide remark. Olette stuck her head out from the locker to glance back at the boys. They either walked by without noticing her, or didn't have any remote interest in her. Olette tilted her head in confusion. Maybe, just maybe, Sora didn't brag about the incident to them. She scowled and slammed her locker shut.

It wasn't something that he needed to be _that_ ashamed about.

- x - x - x - x -

Olette headed over to the lot after school by herself. Usually, she would have gone over with a couple of the girls by her side. But today they seemed to have disappeared. She saw Roxas heading towards the lot as well from down another sidewalk. They both approached the gate at the same time. Olette forced a small smile for Roxas. Roxas looked up from his feet to lock eyes with the girl. Saying the moment was awkward would have been an understatement.

"Hi," Olette finally spoke up, keeping the forced smile.

"Hey," Roxas grunted. He broke the eye contact and stalked off through the gate, his hands in his pockets. Olette groaned inwardly. Just as she feared: He hated her.

The girls were already in the outfield, practicing before the game started up. Olette remained where she was by the gate, slamming her head against it all the while. Her moment was interrupted when someone spoke up from behind her. Olette peered up to see Sora standing behind her, looking down at her with disgust.

"What the heck are you doing?" Sora scoffed.

Olette scowled. He had some nerve. "I hate you _so_ much!"

"The feeling's mutual," Sora snickered. Olette was about to punch him in the mouth when he spoke up again. "Listen…"

Another awkward moment was born. Olette dreaded he was going to bring up the incident and tried to run off. But before she could Sora opened his mouth again.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said, earning himself Olette's attention. "If anything, the whole thing was rather disgusting for me." Sora smirked when he saw the frown on Olette's face. "So I was wondering, since you kind of broke our deal already what with you kissing me before the game was over and all, if we could make another deal."

"No way," Olette huffed, spinning on her heels.

"Come on!" Sora whined. "This one doesn't involve you, I swear!"

Olette frowned at him from over her shoulder, but listened. Sora smiled and straightened up.

"If your team loses…" Sora paused and looked at someone past Olette. She followed his gaze, only to have her eyes land on Kairi. The redhead was stretching in the outfield, sitting on the grass. Olette turned back to Sora with a smirk. He pouted. "As I was saying, if you lose any chance you can get me a date with…Kairi?"

Olette almost broke out into laughter. The look on Sora's face was priceless. It was the first time she had ever seen him look even remotely embarrassed, let alone blush as well. She also thought the whole thing was rather cute. It was obvious the two liked each other, so it was about time one admitted it. Olette hummed and tapped her chin.

"Gee, I don't know," she teased. "Wouldn't I have to get Kairi's permission first?"

Sora clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "Please Olette! Help a guy out!"

Olette snickered. "All right, I'll do what I can."

"Thank you!" Sora practically cheered. Despite their hatred for each other, Sora gave Olette a hug and ran off towards the boys' dugout.

Olette stood in silence as the seconds ticked away. She remained frozen where she was, in the position she had been when Sora hugged her. She shuddered, and then frowned.

"I'm going to need a shower after this one," she muttered as she passed through the gate.

Olette didn't notice the pair of blue orbs that had been watching her and Sora the whole time. Roxas was in the boys' dugout, sitting on the metal bench with a baseball in his hand. He had discretely spied on Olette from the dugout, embarrassed to talk to her face to face. If he spent any more time with her, he would have become painfully obvious. While he spied on her, his cousin walked up to Olette. A hot bubbling feeling exploded in Roxas' stomach. The nerve Sora had, talking to Olette! He continued watching as Sora suddenly latched onto Olette and hugged her. Roxas squeezed the ball in his hand. He knew it had been Sora all along! Roxas' eyes flickered from the shuddering Olette to his beaming cousin as he walked into the boys' dugout. Roxas sent Sora a dark glare, which the brunette seemed to not have noticed.

The girls huddled together in the dugout before the game started. Naminé had finally joined them and stood next to Larxene. Olette wringed her hands together. There was too much going on through her mind to focus, but she tried anyway. She sighed and looked at her girls.

"We've got four more innings to go," Olette began. "We're down by four. But with a little work I think we can win."

"You think?" Larxene scoffed. "That's not the pep talk of a captain!"

Olette rubbed the back of her head. "I know…?"

"What's up with you?" Tifa asked. "Is something wrong?"

Fuu nodded. "Very wrong."

Olette shook her head quickly. "Nothing!" she lied.

The only four people who knew about her problem were Kairi, Naminé, Roxas, and Sora. And they're the only ones she wanted to know. Olette cleared her throat and tried again.

"I know we can kick their butts!"

This earned herself a cheer from the girls. Olette smiled. Faking it wasn't going to be so hard after all. The boys scattered onto the outfield. As Kairi went forth to pick up a bat, Olette stopped her and pulled her over to a secluded corner in the dugout.

"I need you to do me a favor," Olette asked, looking past Kairi at Sora. "I'll tell you about it later."

Slightly confused, Kairi headed over to the home plate. She stood in front of Pence and held up her bat. But Olette wasn't watching Kairi at home plate with a bat. No, she was watching the pitcher. Roxas looked serious, the baseball in his hand. After a long moment, he threw the ball forward. Olette sighed dreamily, accidentally of course. Larxene snapped her head around and looked at Olette strangely.

"What was that about?" the tall blonde asked.

Olette looked back up at her. "Hmm?"

Both of them redirected their attention to Kairi. She had swung the first time, but missed. Pence threw the ball back at Roxas. Olette's heart jumped when Roxas quickly glanced over at the girls' dugout and looked at Olette. She was about to smile for him when he quickly looked away, frowning. The frown on his face didn't lift Olette's spirits one bit. She groaned and hung her head, only earning herself another confused look from Larxene.

Roxas brought his arm back, then forward. He sent a fastball towards Kairi. Rather than striking out like usual, Kairi swung her bat forward and hit the ball. It went rolling in the dirt. Throwing the bat aside, Kairi dashed towards the first base. Sora lunged at the ball at his shortstop position. He scooped the ball up and threw it at his cousin. By the time Roxas caught the ball Kairi had already stepped onto the first base, Hayner standing behind her and shaking his head. The girls cheered loudly from the dugout. Larxene smirked down at Olette and went over to the corner of the dugout with the bats.

Larxene stepped on the home plate. She raised the bat up, smirking to herself. The boys in the outfield backed up, preparing themselves for the homerun Larxene would more than likely hit. A breeze passed over the lot. Olette looked up at the sky frantically, thinking it was the warning breeze of a storm. The sky was clear of any sign of an oncoming storm. Olette sighed out of relief. Rain was a bad reminder to her. Roxas threw the ball. It whizzed past Larxene as she kept her bat still.

"Strike one!" Pence announced, chucking the ball back at the pitcher.

The boys cheered as Larxene straightened herself up. She sighed and patted the bat against the home base. She got herself back into batting position. As the boys quieted down on the field, the girls grew louder in their dugout.

"Let's go Larxene!" Tifa cheered, slamming her fists against the fence.

Naminé jumped up and down as she cheered, "You can do it Larxy!"

Olette laughed to herself. She could just imagine Larxene's reaction at Naminé's little nickname. With a sigh, Roxas sent a curveball at Larxene. She swung her bat forward full force. There was a deafening crack as the ball was hit and went soaring through the air. Almost at once, Kairi and Larxene took off. The ball flew over the heads of both Seifer and Waka as the two dashed after the flying ball. Rather than hitting a homerun, the ball hit the grass near the very back of the leftfield. Waka plucked the ball off the ground and spun on his heels. When Roxas got the ball back, Kairi had already stepped on the third base while Larxene stood at second.

The girls cheering increased as the boys began to look crestfallen and annoyed. Selphie and Yuffie broke out into a cheer of their own, praising Kairi further.

"Kairi, we miss you! Come home! Come home!" Selphie and Yuffie cheered, clapping along with the rhythm of the chant. Olette saw Kairi smile from third base.

"Way to go Larxy!" Naminé shouted gleefully.

Olette saw a scowl flash onto Larxene's face. This caused the young brunette to burst out laughing. Rikku bounced up to Olette, wearing a huge grin on her face.

"Please, can I bat next?" Rikku requested excitedly. "I've been practicing, honest!"

Behind the blonde girl, Selphie and Yuffie signaled at Olette to not let the girl go. But Olette was unable to say no to the girl.

"Sure. Go ahead Rikku," Olette chimed. The girl squealed and ran over to pick out a bat. Olette tried avoiding Selphie and Yuffie's glares of death.

The bubbly blonde approached the home base, dragging the bat behind her all the while. Olette noticed the boys moving in and frowned. Rikku held the bat up, but stood in a deformed looking batting stance. Ignoring several of the boys' snickers, Roxas got into pitching position and threw the ball at Rikku. She swung the bat forward too early and missed the baseball.

"Strike one!" Pence tossed the ball back over at Roxas. The girls began shouting words of encouragement at Rikku. With the exception of Larxene.

"If you fail us, I'll beat you into a bloody pulp!" Larxene called from the second base.

Gulping, Rikku held her bat back up. The last thing she wanted was to face the wrath of Larxene. Roxas brought his arm back. Rikku prepared herself for the pitch. The ball flew out of Roxas' hand and went whirling at Rikku. With a squeal, Rikku held her bat out, her eyes shut tight. The ball dinged against the bat and went flying through the air. Rikku tossed her bat aside and went skipping from home plate to first base. The girls and boys alike stared in shock at what had just happened.

"No way," Yuffie breathed. "She actually…hit the ball!"

Sora went running after the ball as Larxene took off past him. Kairi was just a few feet away from the home plate. Right before Rikku stepped on the first base, the boys broke out into cheer. She skidded to a halt to see what the cheering was about. Sora held his arm out and allowed the flying ball to land in his glove. Rikku had been caught out. With a pout, the blonde girl trudged back over to the dugout as the boys continued their loud hooting. Kairi sighed and hurried back over to the third base. Larxene stomped her way to second base, making sure to push Sora to the dirt on the way over there.

"Good job Rikku," Olette told the depressed girl. "Hey, look at it this way: At least you're getting better at the sport."

Rikku glanced up at Olette, not looking any happier. "But he still caught the baseball." Olette pat the girl sympathetically on the back, unable to think of anything else to say. Rikku sighed. "And now I have to deal with Larxene beating me into a bloody pulp."

Once again, Olette only gave her a pat on the back. A bat was shoved into Olette's face by Yuffie. She stared at her friend strangely.

"Let's go, Captain," Yuffie said with a wink.

Olette retrieved the bat reluctantly. In all honesty, she didn't want to have to face Roxas. Especially on the field. And especially if he had a baseball in his hands that he could throw at her at lethal speeds. Gulping, Olette marched out of the girls' dugout and walked up to the home plate with her head held high. In a swift robotic movement, Olette spun on a single heel and faced the blonde pitcher with her bat held above her shoulder. She tried not to notice the annoyance flicker on Roxas' face. And as soon as it had appeared, it disappeared. He looked through Olette with his regular seriousness. Ignoring the warmth in her face, Olette got into a batting position.

Stretching his arm as far back as he could, Roxas swung his arm forward quickly. Olette yelped and dodged the ball that came flying at her. It whizzed by, almost hitting her in the arm. Olette stared back at Roxas with surprise. He stared at his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. He almost hit her with the ball!

"Hey now!" Larxene called from her spot at second base. "Did you see that? He almost hit her! She should get to walk for that!"

"It's…okay," Olette said to Pence.

The chubby catcher shook his head. "She's right," he agreed. "Roxas threw the ball right at you. I'll let you walk."

Groaning, Olette dropped her bat. She sulked to the first base. Sora sent his cousin an irritated look. Roxas exchanged the same facial expression and shrugged. He caught the ball Pence threw at him. Over at first base, Olette was punching her forehead. She knew she was right – Roxas hated her.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!_

The punching continued.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Um…Olette?" Hayner spoke up from behind Olette. The punching stopped and the brunette looked over her shoulder at him. She forgot she wasn't alone. Currently, Hayner was staring at Olette like she was mental. "I probably shouldn't ask, but what the heck are you doing?"

Olette's face went blank and she stared at home plate. "Punishing myself for my utter stupidity."

"O…kay then."

"Bases are loaded!" Pence called to the others on the field as Yuffie stepped up to the plate. The three girls on the bases readied themselves to make a run for it as Yuffie prepared herself on the home plate.

Roxas brushed his bangs out of his face and tossed the ball back and forth between his hands. He stood tall, waiting for dramatics. Almost in the blink of an eye, Roxas threw the ball and sent it flying at Yuffie. The girl remained still, not even taking a swing at the baseball. It went flying past her and landed in Pence's glove.

He tossed it back to Roxas, shouting, "Ball one!"

The girls' in the dugout shouted words of encouragement to Yuffie as the boys did the same thing for Roxas. Olette shifted on her feet, desperately wanting this game to end. Frankly, she didn't care if she won anymore. Well, she did. But she thought about the embarrassment that would come from playing on a team with both Roxas and Sora. Plus, it couldn't be safe, especially if Roxas kept throwing the baseball at _her_. Olette pouted at what she thought was an unfair action. In all honesty, the whole nauseating scene between her and Sora wasn't her fault. In a way maybe. Okay, so the whole thing was her fault. But if anything, Roxas didn't have to react so childishly. It's not he liked her or anything anyway. Sighing, Olette returned her attention to the game.

Roxas had pitched the baseball and this time Yuffie swung at it. She swung a second too late and missed the soaring ball. Pence caught it once more. He tossed it back over to the boys' pitcher, announcing it as Yuffie's first strike. The words of encouragement increased from both teams. Kairi on third encouraged Yuffie to bring her home, while Larxene on second made threats, which were hopefully friendly jokes. Olette was the only soul who remained silent, lost in her thoughts and problems. She didn't even notice when Yuffie hit the ball, sending it rolling past Riku at second. She blinked when there was an eruption of cheering and shouting.

"Olette!" Yuffie yelled as she darted from home plate towards first. She was waving frantically to get the emerald-eyed girl's attention. Eventually, Olette turned her head to look at Yuffie. "Run for it!"

"Oh!" Olette finally snapped out of it and made a run for second.

Seifer at centerfield had gotten the ball by the time Kairi stepped on home base, causing the girls' dugout to explode into joyful cheering and congratulating. Finally, after what seemed like too much of a long time, the girls had scored a point, putting them just three points behind the boys. Olette made it to the second plate before Riku had a chance to tag her out. Rather than throwing the ball at Hayner to get Yuffie out, Riku chucked the ball in Pence's direction. Olette snapped her head to look over her shoulder. Larxene had stepped on the third base and decided to keep going. She stuck her right leg out and went sliding halfway in between the bases. Pence missed catching the ball, which allowed Larxene to slide on the home plate and score yet another point for the girls. The lot was filled with the cheering voices of the girls and the groans of disappointment from the boys. Olette joined in with the cheering as well, pumping her fists into the air.

_Two points in one round!_

Which meant that they were now just two points behind the boys, putting them at eleven points while the boys had thirteen. Olette knew her team wouldn't let her down. With any luck, she was sure to get on the boys' baseball team. Her boy related problems were momentarily dismissed as the adrenaline coursing through her veins continued. Next to bat was Naminé. Olette glanced over at the dugout in time to see Larxene get attacked with hugs, particularly by Rikku. Who was most likely trying to get Larxene not beat her into a bloody pulp. Naminé swished her hair back, emitting pheromones out onto the baseball field. Several boys stared lustfully at the blonde girl as she held her bat up with a seductive grin. Olette kept her eyes away from Roxas, though she had to admit she was curious as to what his reaction would be to her best friend's pheromones.

Roxas threw the baseball at Naminé twice, and both times Pence called them as balls. On his third pitch, Roxas ran his hand through his hair before throwing a curve ball at Naminé. She swung forward, hitting the ball with a _crack_. Olette took off along with the other two girls on the field. Sora went chasing after the ball with his glove held in the air. He missed catching the ball in the air and instead had to pick it off the ground. Olette rushed by just in time to dodge being tagged out by the thorny haired brunette. Naminé continued towards the first base as Yuffie stepped on second. Sora chucked the ball at Tidus. Olette, suspecting this, repeated Larxene's actions and went sliding through the dirt. Sliding had always been faster than running anyways. Unfortunately it wasn't as successful for Olette as it had been for Larxene. Tidus caught the ball and tagged Olette's leg when her foot was just centimeters away from the third base.

"You're out!" Pence called, noticing the little scene at third. "Second out!"

Grinning, Tidus tossed the ball back at Roxas. Olette got back to her feet, sighing. She trudged back over to the girls' dugout, trying to keep her head held high. She kept herself from looking over at the pitcher's mound and instead walked into the dugout, where she got a slap on the back from Larxene.

"You did good kid," Larxene said with a smile on her pale face.

Olette made a raspberry. "Blah."

"At least you didn't get out the first time," Rikku said under her breath, her squeaky voice still somber.

"Guess I'm up," Tifa laughed, a bat propped on her shoulder.

The tall girl descended to the home plate. Naminé and Yuffie waited at first and second, expecting Tifa to hit it out of the park. Or lot, if one wanted to be technical. The girls around Olette shouted praises to Tifa. The boys shouted their own words of encouragement, slandering the girls' efforts to win. This helped out the fire burning inside Olette. She began shouting her own words of encouragement, slandering the boys in the process.

"Show them how deadly Sirens can be!" Olette yelled, remembering their team name.

Almost smiling, Tifa got herself into batting position. Roxas got into his own pitching position and waited for the cheering to quiet down a bit. The blonde threw his best fastball, which to his dismay was hit on the first try. Tifa sent the ball flying into the right field, where Rai decided to take a nap. The boys shouted for the oversized guy to wake up, snapping him out of his nap. Yuffie had already rounded third and decided to keep on going for home. Naminé thought it best to stay at second as Tifa continued her way to first, throwing the baseball bat behind her. Yuffie rushed past Pence after stepping on the home plate. The girls congratulated the girl loudly, cueing the boys to groan again. Roxas got the ball back in his glove. Naminé and Tifa now stood at second and first. And the girls had now just gotten twelve points. Olette's spirits were lifted higher as Yuffie stepped back into the dugout.

Without saying a word, Fuu stepped up to the plate with a baseball bat of her own. Naminé stood almost all the way off the second plate, her foot barely touching it. Tifa was slightly crouched down, ready to make a sudden run for it. The boys in the infield gathered closer to the home plate, expecting Fuu to bunt as usual. Olette's fingers gripped tighter to the fence wire of the dugout. If Fuu bunted, either her or Naminé could get out. Before she could contemplate any more negative thoughts, Roxas pitched the ball. To everyone's surprise, Fuu swung full force at the ball and sent it whizzing past the boys in the infield. The infielders stood frozen in shock as the girls went running from base to base. Waka retrieved the ball, then threw it in Tidus' direction. When he got the ball, however, Naminé was already long gone. Spinning quickly on his heels, Tidus sent the ball flying at Pence. The baseball flew past Naminé and into Pence's glove. She skidded to a halt suddenly, allowing herself to get tagged out by Pence.

"Third out!"

"Aw man!" Naminé groaned loudly, stomping her foot.

"Switch!" Pence announced as he ripped the protective helmet from his face.

Olette's girls hurried out of the dugout and out onto the field. Naminé sighed and rubbed her arm. Olette approached her with a smile.

"Why so glum?" asked Olette.

Naminé's eyes flickered to her best friend. "Ugh, I got out."

Olette laughed. "Aw, Naminé, it's okay," she comforted. She led her blonde friend over to the pitcher's mound. "Some of us have it worse." Olette frowned. "Trust me when I say this."

Naminé returned to her spot at shortstop with a puzzled look. Sometimes, Olette was weird. The brunette pitcher snuck a peek at the boys' dugout. She saw Roxas elbow Sora in the side on the way into the dugout. Sora returned the nudge with a light shove of his own, looking just as confused as Naminé did several seconds ago. With an agitated frown, Roxas nudged his cousin even harder than before. Olette sighed. A family feud perhaps?

The first batter up was Seifer. He stood tall and proud at the home base, holding his bat near his head. Tifa stood behind him, her glove held out. After catching another glance of Roxas and Sora's small nudge fight from inside the dugout, Olette turned back to the tall blonde standing on the home plate. Seifer stood in his batting position as Olette positioned herself. He had missed Olette's first pitch, but hit the fastball she threw the second time. The girls in the outfield went to work while Seifer headed towards Kairi at first base. Larxene was the first one to get the ball. But because Seifer was such a fast runner, he was already on the second plate by the time the ball returned to Olette.

Sora was up to bat as the boys cheered for Seifer. The spiky brunette rubbed his side where Roxas had constantly elbowed him, and then got into batting position. Still ticked off at Sora, Olette decided to throw a curve ball. And just as she had hoped, Sora went swinging at it only to miss.

"Strike one!" Tifa shouted to the people in the outfield. Olette caught the baseball thrown at her.

Determination flashed onto Sora's face. Olette caught his eyes flickering in Kairi's direction just in time. The green-eyed pitcher tried not to smile. Instead, she hoped that Sora wouldn't let the testosterone go to his head. Still, she found it cute that he was trying to impress the girl standing at first base.

"Strike two!" came Tifa's call as Sora missed Olette's second pitch.

The boy huffed and held up his bat. The boys shouted from their dugout, urging Sora to make a hit. He shifted on his feet, trying to concentrate. Mustering up all her strength, Olette sent the best pitch she could at Sora. This time, he hit the ball as hard as he could. Seifer was off along with Sora and the baseball.

The game went on for quite some time. It was an intense one at that. With the game coming near to its end, the boys were giving it their all just like the girls. It had been quite awkward for Olette when Roxas was up to bat. But nonetheless, she pitched normally for him. Unlike Roxas, Olette didn't _try_ to give him a concussion with the baseball. But because of her excellent pitching skills, Roxas did hit a fly ball and got out when Yuffie caught it in centerfield. He trudged to the dugout, looking more peeved than ever.

But that aside, the boys were showing no mercy by the end of the seventh inning, which had started when the boys struck three outs during the sixth inning. During the sixth and seventh innings, the boys earned a total of six points. This put them at nineteen points. When it came time for the girls to play during the seventh inning, they only got a measly amount of four points. They now had sixteen total, putting them just three points behind the boys. At this rate, they were never going to catch up.

Waka struck out, thus ending the seventh inning. Olette sighed wearily from the pitcher's mound.

_Just two more innings and it's all over._

She had to take a moment to remember why she even agreed to this agony. Olette was starting to wonder if earning a spot on the boys' baseball team was worth it. The girls in the field stretched a bit before they would return to the dugout to start up the eighth inning. As Olette stretched her arms up towards the orange sky from her mound in the middle of the infield, she couldn't help but take another look at the boys' dugout. Roxas' cold shoulder act was killing her, and she was on the verge of breaking down.

She froze mid-stretch at the sight of Roxas and Sora whispering with each other. They stood just outside the dugout, close in a huddle. Their discussion look heated. Sora was talking fast with his hands, while Roxas had his arms crossed. Irritation was evident on his face. Sora's back was turned to her, so Olette tried reading Roxas' lips. It was too bad lip-reading wasn't a skill of hers. Sora's body language told her that he was starting to get annoyed with his cousin. Roxas' facial expression turned angrier as well. After a moment, the boys started snapping at each other more loudly. Roxas said something that caused Sora to look over his shoulder at Olette. She hitched an eyebrow. The brunette quickly turned back to his blonde counterpart and the heated arguing continued.

The arguing seemed to get worse as clear anger flickered onto Roxas' face. Olette let her arms drop to her side as Sora continued fighting with his cousin. And then suddenly Roxas hook punched Sora, sending his cousin to the dirt. Olette gasped as several people in the field and dugout diverted their attention to the fight. Some girls squealed in fright from the field while a few boys actually began chanting the two boys' names, encouraging them to keep on fighting.

Sora jumped back to his feet. He tackled Roxas, wrapping his arms around his waist, and sent him tumbling to the ground. Sora tried to get a few punches in while he was still dominant. This caused a cry to crawl up Olette's throat and out her mouth. Several girls rushed past her towards the scene. The boys that were once in the dugout now surrounded the two cousins in a wide circle. Olette forced herself away from the pitcher's mound and over to the circle of teens. Roxas had flipped Sora onto his back and now sat on top, returning a few punches of his own. When Olette joined the crowd the boys were already scuffed up and bruised. Sora kicked his cousin off him. Roxas landed on his back with a grunt.

Both got back on their feet, huffing for breath through tightly gritted teeth. They glared at each other with balled up fists for several seconds before lunging at each other. Roxas sent his fist flying at Sora's face as Sora did an uppercut punch to Roxas' stomach. The boys pushed against each other, the punches still coming like the never-ending fire of bullets in a war. The circle grew wider as Sora was pushed towards the inner edge of the circle. He went charging back at Roxas, letting his cousin know he wasn't going down without a fight.

"Both of you, stop!" Olette cried, unable to watch anymore. The two boys didn't even have a legitimate reason to fight.

Almost as if agreeing with Olette, Seifer and Larxene stepped forward. Seifer wrapped his arm around Sora's neck from behind, holding him back and preventing Sora from thrashing his limbs about. Larxene slipped her arms under Roxas' own arms and held them in a position where he was unable to throw any more punches. He tried kicking out his feet, but when Larxene tightened her hold on him the kicking died. All the two boys could do was grunt and shout, gasping for breath as they did so. Roxas and Sora sent death glares at each other, substituting their punches and kicks with the glares.

"Care to explain what got into the two of you?" Seifer snarled as he held back the enraged Sora.

"He started it!" Sora yelled, struggling against Seifer's hold. "He punched me first!"

"You were asking for it!" Roxas shouted back, also struggling against Larxene's hold.

"Both of you calm down now!" Larxene snapped, venom dripping from her voice.

Olette clasped a hand over her mouth, unable to contain the shock she had endured. The girls around her wore faces of equal surprise. What exactly had gotten into the boys?

"I was just defending myself!" shouted Sora. He stopped fighting against Seifer's grasp, but continued sending his cousin dirty looks.

"That's just the kind of thing I'd expect from you!" Roxas fired back. Unlike his cousin, he was still struggling against Larxene's hold. "Kick a man while he's down! That's just how you are you no-good–"

"That's _enough_!" Larxene shouted as her voice echoed throughout the lot.

The baseball field grew eerily quite as Roxas' grunting stopped completely. All that could be heard was the loud panting as the two boys. They continued glowering, unable to attack each other. Finally, Roxas jerked his arm and was free of Larxene's grasp. Several boys made a motion towards Sora, expecting Roxas to lunge at him. Instead, Roxas turned on his heels.

"I'm going home," Roxas muttered, his fists still balled up.

"What?" Sora shouted. "The game's not over!"

Roxas didn't reply. He continued stalking off in silence, his face filled with pure hatred. He brushed past Olette, making eye contact with her for a millisecond. In that one millisecond, the hatred was gone only to be replaced by some form of sadness. Roxas walked past her and continued towards the gate. Olette squeaked to herself, clasping her mouth again. So _that_ was why the boys fought with each other!

"Get back here!" Sora yelled to Roxas after getting out of Seifer's grasp. His blonde cousin kicked the gate open and stomped through it. He was down the street, ignoring his cousin's threats. "We still have a game to play! You can't bail out on us now!"

"There's no use playing now," Yuffie said. "Especially since our pitcher just took off running as well."

"WHAT?" Sora snapped his head around to see what Yuffie was talking about. And sure enough, Olette had somehow found a way to sneak off unnoticed and run the opposite way down the street. The field was now left baseball pitcherless. Sora shouted and grabbed his hair. "What is wrong with the pitchers of baseball?"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	14. Chapter 14

Pace, pace, pace, pace.

Olette stopped briefly in her tracks.

Pace, pace, pace, pace.

Stop.

And then more pacing.

With a deep sigh, Olette skidded to another halt. She wrung her hands together nervously. The girl craned her neck until she was staring up at the inky sky. She had been used to Twilight Town's orange smeared sky. It was a common thing among the people in that town. But Olette was still getting used to its night sky. Purple, dark blue, cloudy, and blinking with stars. She preferred it to the usual orange sky.

Olette found herself standing alone on the dark street. The sidewalk was lit by a dim lamppost, casting its pale light on the young girl. Her only companion was the shadow at her feet. The thought of why she was even out alone in the first place ran itself through her mind for a moment. Olette sighed again. Beating the boys in a game of baseball was easy. But this – this was _hard_.

The young brunette had attempted to crawl out her bedroom window without being noticed just earlier. It was a complete failure. Naminé snuck back into the room after secretly searching through the kitchen in time to see Olette's legs flailing about in the window. She had no choice but to inform her best friend what she was doing. Olette urged Naminé to let her go see Roxas alone, and the blonde complied. Something told her she was the reason why Roxas walked out on the game that day. Because of this, Olette _needed_ to see him.

The only problem was she couldn't bring herself to walk over to his house and talk to him. Olette hung her head, her hands still intertwined with each other.

"Maybe this was a bad idea…"

Olette turned around and came face to face with three familiar figures. She yelped and jumped. Yuffie, Kairi, and Selphie remained clam though. Their arms were crossed over their chests, and the three girls were glaring at Olette like she had been caught doing something wrong. Olette cleared her throat and chuckled nervously.

"Hello you three…"

"What are you doing?" Selphie asked, her arms still crossed tight.

"Why are you out so late?" Kairi butted in. Olette could hear the song she was listening to.

"And," Yuffie added, "why are you alone?"

"Um…" Olette continued wringing her hands. "I could very well ask you three the same thing."

Selphie answered, "The three of us were hanging out."

"So we went on a walk," Kairi added.

"And, we're not alone." Yuffie's glare turned into a smirk. Olette's eyes went dodgy as the three answered their own questions.

"That's…nice for you three."

Kairi hitched and eyebrow. "So?"

"Care to explain what you're doing?" Selphie questioned.

Olette frowned. Her nosy friends were starting to get on her nerves. Yuffie's arms uncrossed only to have her place her hands on her hips. Olette turned her attention to her.

"I know what you're doing!" Yuffie said. "You're going to see _him_ aren't you?"

Olette smiled meekly. "Um…"

"Who's him?" Selphie asked, looking back and forth between Yuffie and Olette.

Kairi gasped and pointed at Olette dramatically. "Roxas!"

Selphie looked at Olette with wide eyes. The green-eyed brunette's face tinged red. "Why would you want to go see Roxas?" Selphie gasped.

Kairi and Yuffie groaned, and then slapped their foreheads in unison. Selphie tapped her chin. After a moment's thought, the answer finally hit her and she smiled. She wiggled her eyebrows at Olette, causing her to roll her eyes.

"I'm just gonna go home," squeaked Olette. She attempted to brush past her three friends, but they blockaded in front of her. Olette gave them a curious look.

"There ain't no way you're weaseling out of this one," Selphie giggled, pointing her index finger directly at Olette. The emerald-eyed girl squeaked again, stepping back from her smirking friends.

"Hoping to get some alone time with Roxas, aren't you Ollie?" Yuffie cackled lightly as she wiggled her eyebrows in Olette's direction.

Olette frowned. "What did you call me?"

"Was the fight between Roxas and Sora about you?" Kairi asked, slightly referring to the incident Olette mentioned to her the other day.

Olette sighed slightly. "I think so."

"But why would Roxas and his cousin fight about you?" Selphie wondered out loud, her eyes trailing up to the sky.

"Who cares?" Yuffie scoffed while crossing her arms again. She returned to Olette, smirking. "What we need to worry about is you and Roxas."

Olette groaned, only to hang her head once more. Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie all giggled simultaneously as they squished together in a huddle. They looked back at Olette with a mischievous glimmer in their eyes. They quickly scanned the brunette before making eye contact with her again.

"Nice outfit Ollie," Selphie giggled childishly. "What were you planning to do with Roxas by dressing up so nicely?"

A frown flashed onto Olette's face again. "What did you just call me?"

"Mm hm, very cute," Kairi agreed. Her hair fell onto her face as she nodded her head.

Olette's green eyes flickered down to her outfit. Her face flushed again. The girls had hit the nail right on the head – she did in fact dress nicely on purpose. Olette had chosen a black short-sleeved top that hugged her every curve. Underneath the low-cut shirt was a noticeable white lacy undershirt. She also decided to wear a collared dark blue denim jacket with it. This was one of those rare occasions where Olette decided to wear a skirt. The skirt was also made out of denim, but was a light shade of blue. It fluffed near the end and hung loosely around her waist. The brunette decided to show off her legs by wearing some black flip-flops instead of sneakers with long black socks like she had originally planned to wear. Naminé refused to let Olette out of the house with knee-length socks though, so she ended up with the flip-flops. Olette even took a few minutes to pick out some bracelets, and even a pair of earrings.

Kairi leaned forward to scan Olette's face more closely. The brunette cleared her throat uncomfortably as her face turned a darker shade of red. The redhead hitched an eyebrow and smirked.

"Ollie dear, are you wearing eye shadow?" Kairi chuckled as she straightened back up and placed her hands on her hips. The redhead had unfortunately noticed Olette's light shade of green eye shadow.

Olette frowned at Kairi. "What did you _call_ me?"

The three girls giggled again, ignoring the huffy brunette's irritation. The incessant giggling only ended up annoying Olette more. The three girls started swaying their bodies as they chanted in unison,

"Roxas and Olette, sitting in a tree–"

Olette's face went red again as the girls continued singing childishly. "You guys better stop it!" she threatened, trying to hide her blush.

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g! First comes love, then comes marriage!"

"I mean it!" Olette huffed, stomping her foot. She spun on one heel and turned her back to her friends. "I'm going home!"

"Hold up!" Yuffie gasped as she grabbed Olette by the arm. "We were just playing!"

"Seriously," Selphie apologized. "We think you look cute tonight, and Roxas will definitely like it."

Olette tried to ignore the warmth in her cheeks.

"About time you made a move," Kairi snickered.

Olette smirked. "You guys really want me to go meet Roxas?" The three girls standing before her nodded. "Okay. I will. But only if Kairi does a favor for me." 

The redhead tilted her head to one side. "What kind of favor?" she asked, loud music blaring in her ears.

"Let's say, _hypothetically_, I betted your innocence on the game," Olette tittered.

Kairi's jaw dropped. "You bet my what on the game?"

"Oh, it doesn't sound that bad," Selphie laughed, waving her hand around in the air. "We all know Olette takes that baseball game seriously, so don't act so surprised Kairi. Anyway, please continue Ollie."

Olette glowered. "If someone calls me that one more time–"

"You were saying?" Yuffie sassed. 

"If I go see Roxas tonight," Olette said to Kairi, "then you have to go on a date with Sora if we lose the baseball game."

Kairi shrugged her shoulders. "Heck, I'd go on a date with him even if we _didn't_ lose." She gasped when she realized the words that came out of her mouth. Kairi quickly glanced at her friends wide eyed.

"Don't act so innocent Kairi," sighed Selphie, shaking her head. "The whole entire town knows you have the hots for Sora."

"Do not!"

"There you go, denying it again," Yuffie snickered. Kairi smacked her arm playfully, her face tinting pink.

Olette held her hand out, smirking at Kairi. "Agreed?" she asked.

Kairi hesitated for a moment. She then nodded and clasped hands with Olette. "Agreed." 

"You know what this means, don't you?" Selphie giggled evilly, eyeing Olette.

A bad feeling swelled up in the pit of Olette's stomach. The girls began cackling together as they inched closer and closer towards her. With every step they took, Olette stepped back with an anxious smile.

"What are you guys doing?" she laughed nervously.

"Making sure you keep your end of the promise," Kairi laughed maniacally.

"You guys really don't need to do this," Olette huffed.

Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie continued dragging Olette down the sidewalk. The three of them pushed against her back, forcing her down the sidewalk. They gave ease and the pushing stopped. Olette's eyes flickered up to the building painted in shadows. She gulped when she realized her three friends forced her all the way to Roxas' house. She began sweating at the thought of confronting the blonde boy, and spun back around to make a run for it. The three other girls saw this coming and grabbed her arms in an attempt to keep her from fleeing.

"You can do it Ollie," Selphie encouraged.

"We'll be in that bush to help you along," Kairi told, gesturing towards the bush that was growing near the little steps that led to the front door.

"Only on two conditions," Olette agreed. "One, you three hightail it out of here if things start going well." The three girls nodded in agreement. "And two, you guys stop calling me Ollie!"

Her three friends smirked, then nodded their heads. Without another word, they shoved Olette forward. After sneaking a glance over her shoulder, Olette saw her three friends dive head first into the nearby bush. Yuffie stuck her head out of the bush and gave Olette a thumbs up. Her head was swallowed up by the bush once more. Swallowing nervously, Olette turned back to the front door. With the rhythm of a robot, Olette marched uneasily up the steps that lead to the door. She was about to knock on the door when her hand froze in the air. The shaking began as her nervous sweat continued. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't do it!

"Go on," Selphie's voice came from the bush.

"You can do it," Kairi whispered.

Clearing her throat, Olette knocked on the door. After knocking just once, the door swung open. A burst of air from inside blew against Olette, catching her by surprise. She stared into the equally surprised face of Roxas. He held the door open, staring at Olette like she was some strange creature standing on his front porch. The two teens exchanged an awkward moment of silence under the glow of the porch light. Though awkward was an understatement. Roxas stood in the doorway in front of her, wearing a pair of baggy shorts and a pale white shirt. The sleeves of the shirt were rather long and reached his elbows. On the shirt was a black insignia, and the shorts were a cream white color. He had on his regular shoes, but everything else seemed to be casual clothing. If Olette had to guess, Roxas was more than likely wearing his pajamas. Olette finally forced a smile for Roxas.

"Hello," she squeaked.

Roxas' hand remained on the door but he kept his eyes glued to Olette's face. "Hey."

The conversation died right there, and once again Olette was left to become nervous. Not even the noise of some random cricket chirping could be heard. It was just Roxas, and the rather loud sound of Olette's heartbeat.

"Say something!" Selphie hissed from the bush. Olette's face turned red when her friend did so. If anything, Selphie could have _tried_ to yell at her more quietly. Olette laughed nervously, keeping her eyes on Roxas.

The blonde quickly flashed Olette a small forced smile before returning to his stony expression.

"So…um…" Olette wrung her hands together, a nervous habit of hers. "…How are you?"

Roxas shrugged. "Could be better."

Silence.

"You can do better than that!" Yuffie whispered loudly from the bush.

Olette's eyes quickly glanced over at the bush before returning her nervous gaze to Roxas. She forced another smile for him. He, however, remained expressionless. The silence ensued, and any moment Olette was going to spontaneously combust from her mounting nerves.

"Is there something you need?" Roxas finally asked, his eyes looking around behind Olette. Clearly, he could hear the faint little whispers from the bush.

"Ah, no."

"Hmm."

Silence. Again.

"Um…how are you?"

"You already asked that."

"Oh. Yeah." Olette laughed nervously again, her hands wringing together again.

Roxas kept his stare on Olette, only making it harder for her to think straight. It was a miracle he didn't slam the door in her face by now. She had already wasted at least three minutes of his life. Clearly, Roxas was waiting for something to happen. His blue orbs flickered down as he scanned Olette quickly.

"That's a nice outfit you're wearing," Roxas complimented.

Olette smiled. "Thanks."

"If you're looking for Sora," said Roxas as he began to slowly close the door. "He's not here tonight."

"Uh, no!" Olette said hurriedly. This caused Roxas to open the door back up a smidge. He stepped back under the doorway, keeping his hand on the door. "I didn't come for Sora. I, um, came for you."

Roxas looked intrigued. "Really?"

"Keep going!" Kairi encouraged from the bush.

The fact that Roxas was actually listening to her surprised Olette. And this surprise caused her brain to malfunction for a moment. She hadn't exactly planned on what she was going to say to Roxas. And the last time she acted on instinct instead of planning it out it cost her the girl's first kiss. To a jerk no less. This time, Olette thought it wise to think before speaking or acting. The only problem was she _didn't_ think it through. In all honesty, Olette didn't even think she would make it this far.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Olette blurted out. She groaned inwardly. She could see it now: Roxas laughing in her face and calling her rude names for even suggesting him taking a walk with the likes of her.

Roxas stuck his head back in the house. He called over his shoulder, "Hey Axel, I'm going out!"

"What?" Axel's voice wafted out from the living room. "What makes you think you're going out this late?"

"I'm going on a walk," Roxas assured.

"By yourself?"

After his first impression, Olette thought Axel to be a rather immature adult. But now, she was starting to see he was actually a pretty protective guardian of Roxas. He was sure acting like a father right now.

"No, with Olette," Roxas called back.

"Oh," the familiar immature voice of Axel sang. Scratch that, the guy was no mature guardian. Roxas suddenly had in irritated expression. "You two kids have fun, but not too much fun!"

Olette heard the fire-haired man giggle as Roxas slammed the door shut. Roxas' eyes were closed from annoyance and his face was slightly tinted red. He brushed past her.

"Ignore him," Roxas murmured as he jumped down the steps. "Let's go."

While Roxas still had his back turned to her, Olette leaned over towards the bush.

"You three can leave now," she whispered to her friends.

"Good luck," Selphie teased with a suggestive tone. Rolling her eyes, Olette trailed after Roxas down the sidewalk.

Selphie, Kairi, and Yuffie stuck their heads out of the bush. They watched as the two teens continued walking down the sidewalk in an awkward silence. The three turned to look at each other. Smirks simultaneously appeared on each and every one of their faces.

"We're not leaving are we?" Kairi laughed.

"On the contrary," Selphie giggled.

"We are so following them," Yuffie snickered.

"So…how are you?" was Olette's pathetic attempt at starting a conversation.

Roxas glanced down at Olette with a raised eyebrow. "You know, you're a real conversation killer," he mentioned.

Olette looked down at her feet, feeling ashamed.

"I was just kidding," Roxas laughed. "But I think you asked me that four times in the last three minutes."

"I don't know what else to say," Olette muttered under her breath.

The two stopped at the edge of the curb, hanging around a street sign. Roxas glanced down both ways before continuing across the street. Olette was right at his heels, her fingers intertwined with each other as a way to get her to stop wringing her hands. Because she wasn't looking up as she walked Olette ended up smacking into Roxas' back. He turned and looked down at her rubbing her nose in pain. The blonde had come to a complete stop for some reason.

"So, what do you wanna do?" he asked, running his hand through his hair.

Olette shrugged.

Looking annoyed, Roxas began glancing around. "Maybe we could get ice cream…?"

"I think they're closed right now," Olette said as she too glanced everywhere but at Roxas. "What time is it anyway?"

Roxas shrugged. He finally looked back down at Olette. "I guess we could _just_ walk."

The walk continued in silence, the only sound being their footsteps. Roxas kept his gaze up at the sky while Olette was on the verge of dying. Poor little Olette was debating with herself on what to talk about. But the only thing that kept coming to mind was the fight between Roxas and Sora. It seemed he was trying to avoid the subject completely, so Olette decided to stay away from that topic. Right behind the two, keeping to the shadows, were three familiar figures. Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie poked their heads out of the alley when Roxas and Olette walked by. They watched the two quiet teens.

Selphie huffed. "This is boring. They aren't _doing_ anything!"

"Olette's just nervous," Kairi defended in a whisper.

"Roxas isn't helping the situation any either," Yuffie exasperated. "Why does he have to act like such a jerk?"

"Looks like him and his cousin have a lot more in common than just genetics," Selphie agreed with a quick nod of her head.

Kairi pouted. "Come on guys. Sora isn't that bad."

"You're just saying that because you're his _only_ fan girl," Yuffie teased as she poked the redhead in the shoulder. Kairi's pout darkened as she smacked Yuffie's hand away.

After several more minutes of unbearable silence, Roxas stopped in his tracks. Olette also came to a halt. He looked around before glancing down at Olette.

"Any place you want to walk to?" the blonde pitcher inquired with a softened expression.

"Um…" Olette's eyes trailed up to the sky.

Roxas noticed this and snapped his fingers. Olette looked back at him in time to see his wide grin. "I know a better place to stargaze!" With that said, Roxas began dragging Olette down the sidewalk by the wrist.

"Finally!" Selphie cheered with a quiet tone. "Some action!"

"Follow those lovebirds!" Yuffie ordered.

Olette didn't struggle against Roxas' hold as the lot came into view. This caused a small laugh to escape through her lips. Roxas glanced over his shoulder at her to see what was funny. Olette locked eye with him, smiling.

"The lot?" she asked as the two slowed down. "The baseball field is the best place to stargaze?"

Roxas returned the smile. "Of course it is." He and Olette opened the gate and walked through it. "Any baseball field really. The open stadium gives you a perfect view of the sky."

"Two problems with that statement of yours," Olette snickered. "One, this lot isn't in a stadium. And two, wouldn't all the lights on the baseball field make it rather difficult to see the stars?"

The boy and girl descended over to the centerfield, the best spot in the lot to lie down and stare at the night sky. Still standing, Roxas gave Olette an annoyed expression.

"You don't need a stadium to look at the sky," Roxas replied. "And you're supposed to do it with the lights turned off dummy." 

"Don't get snippy," Olette sniggered as she plopped down on the grass.

Pouting, Roxas also laid down on the grass. Olette's nerves calmed down after she came to the conclusion that perhaps Roxas didn't hate her. What the brunette didn't realize was that three girls were skulking around the lot and spying on her and the blonde lying down next to her. After a few moments of quiet, Roxas pointed up at the sky and determined that several stars made a shape when connected together. They began playing the little game with the stars instead of clouds like one would usually do.

"Those right there," Roxas said with a smile, pointing up at the inky sky. "I think it looks like a smiley face."

"I don't see it," Olette disagreed while tilting her head to one side in an attempt to see the smiley face shaped stars. She pointed up at another section of the sky. "Those stars form a heart right there."

"No way!" Roxas laughed, following the trail of Olette's finger. "It looks more like a square than a heart."

Olette frowned. "Your face looks like a square!"

"Oh, don't even try playing that game with me Olette," Roxas chuckled, crossing his arms behind his head. "I am the master of insults."

"And I'm the tooth fairy."

"Your face looks like the tooth fairy."

"Your mom looks like the tooth fairy!"

Roxas laughed, making Olette pout in the process. His eyes were glued to the heart-square shaped pattern of the stars the girl pointed out. His expression slowly disappeared until his face looked blank. A quick scan showed Olette that perhaps he was thinking.

"Sora and I used to have those sort of arguments," Roxas mentioned with a distant laugh.

"Now your arguments are more serious, huh?" Olette blurted out with a bored tone. She gasped suddenly and clamped her hand over her mouth. Roxas stared at her strangely. "I didn't mean to say that!"

"It's fine," Roxas sighed, lying back down and staring up at the sky. "You're talking about today, aren't you?" Olette remained silent, but this was all the answer Roxas needed. "He's been getting on my nerves lately, that's all."

"So you punched him?" Olette asked skeptically. The blonde kept his gaze on the stars. "Naminé annoys me some times, but I never end up punching her in the face."

"Boys act differently from girls," Roxas said calmly. Olette frowned at him, surprising Roxas.

"Just like how boys are better at baseball than girls?" she snapped, sitting up.

"I didn't mean it like that," Roxas quickly explained. Olette simply stuck her tongue out at him, making him end up scowling. "I punched him because…" The boy's voice trailed off. Annoyed, Olette slumped back down and glared up at the stars. A few stars made out the shape a triangle. "You know, I think Sora likes you," he finally spoke up.

Olette laughed sarcastically. "That's a funny joke," she chuckled. "Sora hates me. And let me tell you, I feel the exact same way."

"You don't say," Roxas said under his breath. His mind wandered back to the kiss Sora and Olette exchanged on his porch. He tried not to randomly swear and scowl.

"Hormones suck," Olette laughed randomly. This earned her an odd look from the boy. "You'd think Sora would like me, but he doesn't. And thank goodness for that. He actually likes Kairi."

"It's kind of obvious actually," Roxas mentioned.

Somewhere in the shadows where the girls were hiding, Kairi was thrashing about only to be held back by Yuffie and Selphie.

"You know," Olette chuckled with her own arms crossed behind her head. "Naminé used to like you."

"Seriously?" Roxas laughed, propping himself up on his elbows. Olette raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't know that."

"Well, she doesn't anymore," Olette added quickly. Roxas' sudden interest made her nervous.

"Aw man," Roxas complained playfully. "That sucks. She's pretty hot."

Olette scowled. She sat up and stretched her arms. Roxas watched curiously as Olette rose to her feet. After dusting off her skirt Olette looked down at him and sent him a dark glare.

"I'm going home," she stated simply as she stormed off. "Have a nice life Roxas."

"Uh…hold up!" Roxas called, jumping to his own feet. He chased after Olette, following her up to the gate. "I was just kidding!"

Olette ignored his calls and stomped up to the gate. She fiddled with the lock, but the darn thing wouldn't open. Roxas trailed up to her and came to a halt right behind the girl. Ignoring his presence, Olette continued trying to get the lock of the gate open. After trying for several seconds, she yelled and gave up.

"Why won't it open?" she demanded angrily, her back still turned to the blonde boy.

"Here," Roxas offered. He reached his arm around Olette and pulled open the rusty lock. Olette slammed the gate open and stormed off through it. The poor boy was left by himself in confusion for a moment before chasing after the brunette. "Olette! Wait up!"

"What is she doing?" Selphie gasped from the bush at the side of the street the three girls were now hiding in. An infuriated expression was set on her face.

"I believe she is storming off in anger," Kairi detailed for her friend. Selphie gave the redhead a deathly stare.

"Maybe she's playing with him?" Yuffie suggested, feeling cramped inside the tiny bush the three were trying to hide in.

"Knowing Olette, that's a definite no," Selphie hissed.

"I told you I'm going home," Olette snapped from over her shoulder. Roxas refused to stop following her.

"Did I say something offensive?" Roxas asked sincerely, finally stopping in his tracks. Olette, too, came to a halt. Did he say something offensive? She felt like slapping the stupid out of the boy.

Olette spun around to give him a glare. They were several feet away from each other. The saddened look on Roxas' face was the only thing that stopped Olette from screaming at him. Rather than becoming more enraged, Olette decided to force a smile at him. A tiny, completely fake smile. She added a false laugh to her fake smile.

"I'm not surprised," she spoke quietly when Roxas took a step towards her. He figured it was now safe to approach the girl. "I'm used to people saying those sort of things."

Roxas tilted his head. Olette controlled herself so as to not squeal girlishly. "Saying things like…?"

"Everyone always liked Naminé better," Olette admitted as she turned her back on him.

"I didn't mean it when I said–"

"Naminé has always been the pretty one," Olette continued, completely interrupting Roxas. "I was just the overachieving nerd who was obsessed with sports." She paused for a moment when she realized she was actually divulging her true feelings. Olette loved Naminé like the sister she never had. But sometimes she felt inferior to her blonde best friend. "I can understand why people would prefer Naminé to me."

"Ooh, she's using the guilt trip!" Selphie squealed from their hiding spot.

"Or maybe," Kairi defended, "she's just being honest with Roxas."

"Shut up!" Yuffie hissed through her teeth. "I can't hear them with you two yapping away!"

"Hey…Olette…" Roxas tried sympathizing as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Handling chick flick moments was not one of his better skills. In fact, it wasn't a skill of his at all. He hardly even knew how to work with a depressed girl. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I think you're pretty cool."

Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie all groaned in unison. They slapped their foreheads with the palm of their hands. Boys.

Olette slowly shook her head and shrugged his hand off her shoulder. With a sigh she said, "I'm going home."

Roxas watched as Olette walked off, no longer fuming with anger but wallowing in a sea of depression. "Hey…" he called, unsure what to do. Olette merely gave him a small wave without so much as looking back at him. Roxas hung his head and ran his fingers through his blonde spiked hair. When he looked back up, a look of determination was plastered on his face.

Olette continued slowly down the sidewalk, hanging her head. What a waste of perfectly good outfit. She heard the noise of hurried footsteps behind her and sighed. "Roxas, I told you I'm–"

Olette was interrupted suddenly when Roxas grabbed her arms and spun her around quickly. The next thing she knew, she was savoring the taste of Roxas on her lips. Her emerald orbs widened from surprise as the boy closed his own eyes, enjoying the kiss he was sharing with Olette. The kiss was forced, and slightly aggressive. But if anything, it was much more enjoyable than the one Olette had with Sora. Inhaling deeply, Olette became heavy lidded and finally closed her green eyes. She allowed the warmth of Roxas' soft lips to take over her and finally returned the kiss. Roxas loosened the grip he had on her arms to concentrate more on Olette's lips.

Over in the bush shrouded in shadows hid three girls. These three girls gasped simultaneously, stopping their gasps short by clamping both hands over their own mouths. Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie all glanced at each other, only to end up smirking. They giggled in unison, all three feeling proud for their little Olette. If only they had a camera.

Axel and Sora, however, did.

After what seemed like an eternity, a long wonderful eternity, Roxas slowly parted his lips from Olette's. Opening his eyes, he stared into Olette's face as the moonlight shined on it. Her own eyes were still closed as she continued to savor the kiss. It wasn't her first kiss, but oh how she wished it were. Finally, she peeled her eyes open and noticed the red tinge in Roxas' cheeks. He seemed nervous as he kept his grip on her arms. He trembled in fear, worrying he made a mistake. He was absolutely certain Olette hated him.

So imagine his surprise when she smiled. The fear was quickly drained out of him just by seeing her smile. Giggling, Olette pulled away from his grasp and turned her back on him. She gave him a teasing grin as she glanced at him over her shoulder, intertwining her hands together behind her back.

"Shall I walk you home, Roxas?" she giggled.

Still dumbfound, Roxas blinked. He quickly shook his head and smiled to himself. He rushed up to her side just as she was starting to walk away.

Roxas' house came into view as they rounded the curb. Olette led the blonde up the steps and onto the porch. Roxas turned back to Olette and smiled. She laughed at the sight of his face turning red. Rubbing the back of his neck, Roxas smiled and fare welled, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Olette."

She nodded, grinning. "See you tomorrow."

He waved good-bye and opened up the door. Roxas stepped inside and shut the door gently. Sighing happily, Olette was readying herself to turn back around and walk home. She stopped herself when the door was yanked open again. Roxas poked his head outside and gave Olette a quick peck on the lips. His face completely red, Roxas flashed a quick smile before shutting the door again. Olette remained on the porch under the porch light, still slightly shocked. She smiled to herself as she felt the color rush to her cheeks. Before she turned around she heard some rustling in the bush next to the porch.

"We saw everything!" Kairi, Yuffie, and Selphie cheered in unison as they held up and waved random flags that they pulled out of nowhere. Olette spun on her heels and gaped at her friends in complete surprise. _"Michatta, michatta!"_ the girls began chanting in unison as they waved the random tiny flags around.

Olette reddened, but this time from anger and slight irritation. Any more chanting and cheering, and Roxas was sure to hear them from inside the house.

"I swear, you guys act like immature children!" Olette huffed as she stomped down the steps, away from her friends. If she could call them that, anyway.

"Aw, now she's mad," Yuffie teased, the random flags disappearing. 

"So tell us," Selphie squealed, rushing up to Olette's side. "Was it any good? Is Roxas a good kisser?"

The red color returned to Olette's face. "I don't kiss and tell."

"It was that great?" Kairi laughed, clasping a hand on Olette's shoulder. She gave the three of them a raspberry with her tongue. This, however, induced the girls to laugh even more. Huffing, Olette stuck her nose in the air.

"Aw, don't worry about it Olette," Yuffie chuckled, struggling to calm herself down. "You can tease Kairi like this when we catch her trying to eat Sora's face too."

"What was that?" Kairi snapped suddenly, stomping her foot.

Olette quickly snapped her head around to look at Yuffie with wide, horrified eyes. "It looked like I was trying to eat Roxas' face?" she cried in terror.

Yuffie quickly shook her head, realizing what she said. Selphie laughed and shoved Olette playfully.

"No, your kiss looked very normal," Selphie informed with a giggle. "Yuffie was just trying to insult Kairi by stating that it looks like _she's_ trying to eat someone's face when she kisses them."

"It does not!" Kairi snarled, balling her fists. "And how would you know? Neither of you have seen what I look like when kissing someone!"

The redhead's anger caused Selphie and Yuffie to break out into peals of laughter. Kairi huffed, pouted, then turned to Olette. Sticking her nose in the air, Kairi linked arms with the brunette.

"Come Olette," Kairi said aloofly. "Let's leave these two idiots as they continue laughing like morons." Kairi stomped off, dragging Olette with her.

"Hey!" Selphie called as she rushed after them. "I still want details on that kiss!" Yuffie chased after them as well, demanding to know the same details.

Roxas had returned to his house after the walk he had with Olette. He tried not to smile proudly as he walked into his living room. If Axel were to see the huge grin on his face, he was sure to ask Roxas questions. Luckily for Roxas, Axel was too busy being huddled up together with someone and giggling evilly. Roxas stopped in the archway and tilted his head in confusion. Axel looked up when he heard him enter, along with Sora.

Roxas blinked at his cousin. "Oh, hey Sora," he greeted, no longer wanting to beat him into a bloody pulp. "I didn't know you were coming over."

Axel and Sora smirked, then returned to their huddle as they giggled again. Roxas stood on his toes to see what the two were studying.

"What's that you guys got there?" asked Roxas as he appeared by their sides. Axel was holding a digital camera in his hands. He quickly hid it behind his back and turned to face Roxas, along with Sora. They both gave him evil smirks while trying to stop their laughter.

"So," Axel snickered. "How was your walk?"

Roxas shrugged, averting his eyes and glancing at the floor. "It was okay."

"Just okay?" Sora laughed loudly, holding his sides when he could no longer contain himself.

Roxas raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "What are you two laughing about?" he questioned slowly.

"I'm pretty sure your walk with Olette was more than okay!" Axel chortled as he held the digital camera in Roxas' face. The blonde's blue eyes widened in horror at the sight of the picture his guardian and cousin had taken. Staring back at him, the screen glowing brightly, was a picture of Roxas and Olette kissing passionately. The look on Roxas' face only increased Axel and Sora's laughter. Axel pulled the camera away when Roxas had attempted to swipe it from him. Roxas stood where he was, his fists balled up but a look of panic on his face.

"How – when – did you two take that?" Roxas demanded, the panic obvious in his voice. "Were you two following me?"

"I didn't think you had it in you Roxas!" Sora guffawed, practically choking on his tears of laughter.

"I'm going to post this picture on my Myspace," Axel laughed as he hurried out of the room. Sora followed after him. "I'll title it 'Roxas and Olette – K-I-S-S-I-N-G'!"

Roxas rushed over to the archway and stood there as he watched Axel and Sora run up the stairs in a giggle fit. The panicked look on his face only increased at the mention of Axel posting the picture on the Internet. 

"Wait Axel! You don't even have a Myspace! Axel? AXEL!"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N – Hurrah, hurrah! An update! So, I'm glad to see that you all enjoyed the last chapter. Believe it or not, I was actually going to have no kissing scene between Roxas and Olette at all in this story. To make it realistic you know. But as I was writing chapter 14 and got to the end, I went back and read it. And then I got to that part. I shouted to myself, "WTH?" Thus, began slamming my head against the keyboard. Imagine my brother's reaction when he walked in on me doing so. Anyway, I decided to have Olette and Roxas make out. Ah… I mean… kiss. Tee hee. So I will continue before the two kill me for saying they made out. Even though they TOTALLY made out. Mwa ha ha!**_

- x – x – x – x -

Olette could feel the warmth of her blanket wrapped tightly around her. She could also still feel the warmth of Roxas from the night before. She tried not to smile as she hung off the brink of sleep. Olette recalled the exact softness of Roxas' lips. Even his smell still lingered on her. She could now feel the smile plastered on her face as she rolled over on her side groggily, ignoring the sunrays. She buried her head further into her pillow. So it wasn't her first kiss. Second time's the charm! Or was it the third time? Olette's grin turned mischievous. She wouldn't mind kissing for a third time, especially if it was with Roxas. Just as that little scene played in the back of her mind like a dream, a loud ringing that hurt her ears tore her away from Dream Land.

**RIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNG!**

"ARGH!" Olette flailed her limbs about in surprise and rolled out of bed, taking her blanket with her.

The sound of her alarm clock – which she didn't even remember setting the night before – continued chiming incessantly as she remained lying on her back on the floor. Olette glanced up to see Naminé looming over her, smirking all the while. The blonde's arms were crossed over her chest, and she cast a dark shadow on her brunette friend. A groan escaped Olette's lips. Doing this only ended up making Naminé's smirk grow in size.

"I took the time to set your alarm clock," Naminé chimed much too cheerily. It was way too early in the morning for Olette. She quickly glanced at her clock. Six forty-five A.M. Yeah, way too early. "I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Olette groaned irritatingly. She couldn't help but notice the light sarcasm in Naminé's statement.

The blonde crouched down, seeing Olette's face up close. Naminé's smirk turned into a sincere smile. Olette brushed the bangs out of her tired eyes. The sunlight seeping in through the window made Naminé's hair shine blindingly.

"You were out pretty late," stated Naminé. There was her smirk again. "So. How was it?"

"How was what?" Olette couldn't help but squeak. Naminé was her best friend and all, but even Olette felt uncomfortable talking about girly things and such.

"Don't beat around the bush!" Naminé giggled. "Was last night a success? Did the outfit I pick out for you work?" The blonde leaned in closer, smirking devilishly. "Was Roxas smitten?"

"Okay!" said Olette, unable to ignore the heat rushing to her cheeks. She quickly sat up, causing Naminé to jump back in surprise. "That's enough of that."

Naminé giggled with a squeal. She kicked her legs about excitedly. "He _was_ smitten!"

"Stop saying it like that," Olette sighed as she hung her head.

"Would you prefer he was completely turned on?"

Olette slowly turned her head to face her best friend. She made sure she had on her darkest glare. "Let's keep it rated G, shall we?"

Naminé stuck her tongue out at her friend. "Give. Me. Details!"

"All right," Olette gave in. "But I'll make it quick since I have to get ready for school."

What did it matter? She had an hour and ten minutes to get ready. And a walk to school was only an eight-minute walk for her. Naminé scooted closer to Olette. She crossed her legs and intertwined her fingers together, placing her hands in her lap. There was a child-like grin on her face. The sight of Naminé made Olette sigh again. Sometimes she wondered about her best friend.

"So last night…"

Naminé leaned in closer in anticipation.

"Roxas…"

The blonde prepared herself.

"…Kissed me."

Olette clasped her hands over her ears when Naminé gave the loudest – and possibly most girlish – squeal she had ever heard in her fifteen years of living. The blonde waved her arms about excitedly. She also resumed kicking her legs elatedly. If her parents weren't up now, Olette's mother and father were bound to be awake now.

"Olette?" her dad's voice reached her room.

Oh, yeah, they were awake.

"I'm fine!" Olette responded as she pulled Naminé towards her and clasped her hand over her mouth. Naminé began yelling at her friend, her voice muffled through Olette's hand. At least the kicking and waving stopped. The brunette turned back to her best friend. "It's not _that_ big of a deal."

Naminé pulled away harshly, an expression of mock horror on her pale face. "That's where you're very wrong, Olette my friend," she dramatized. Olette gave a roll of her green eyes. "It is a big deal! You two are _in love_ with each other!"

Olette gave Naminé a side-glance. "I wouldn't go that far."

"Whatever," Naminé scoffed. "You two are _in like_ with each other!"

Olette stuck her tongue out at Naminé when she realized there was a hint of sarcasm in her friend's voice.

"It was so obvious Roxas had the major hots for you," Naminé snickered, swishing her platinum blonde mane back with a flick of her hand. Olette's cheeks tinted pink at the mention of 'having the hots' for her. Way for Naminé to put it bluntly. Naminé smiled, noting the blush all over her best friend's face. "Why else would he start a fist fight with his cousin in the middle of the lot?"

Olette tilted her head to one side in confusion. Naminé rolled her eyes.

"Because he was jealous that Sora kissed you instead of him kissing you!"

"Oh," Olette tittered. "Yeah."

"So?" Naminé leaned in. Olette hated it when she did that. It only meant more uncomfortable questions. "Was the kiss hot and heavy?"

"That's it," Olette huffed as she stood up. Naminé craned her neck and looked up at Olette with a puzzled look. "I'm getting ready for school."

"I was just teasing you!"

- x – x – x – x -

The brunette was surprised to find herself in an empty hall in Sunny Side High. School had just begun, but Olette was late. Something that wasn't ordinary. Despite waking up early (thanks to Naminé, go figure) Olette ended up leaving her house later than she thought. And all because her blonde of a friend wanted descriptive details on the kiss. Olette made sure to make a mental note to never divulge those sorts of things with Naminé ever again. By the time Olette stepped into school all the students had gathered into their classes. She rummaged hurriedly through her locker, throwing arbitrary textbooks into her backpack. Olette slammed her locker shut, only to jump and squeak afterwards. Closing her locker door gave her a perfect view of Roxas, leaning against the row of lockers beside her while having his arms crossed. His eyes were closed, as if thinking, and he hung his head.

"You were late too?" he asked, keeping his head down.

Olette flung her backpack over her left shoulder. "Yeah. I was kind of… held up." She could almost hear Naminé's giggling in her ears.

"I couldn't sleep at all last night," Roxas mentioned, finally lifting his head. The reason why the boy suffered a lack of sleep made Olette's face turn crimson. The real reason, however, as to why Roxas couldn't sleep was because of a certain picture that a certain fire-haired man and a certain brunet cousin took on a certain night. Sighing, Roxas slowly shook his head. He never found that digital camera. And Sora had somehow escaped the house before he could get his hands around his neck. Roxas had reason to believe Sora crawled out of Axel's bedroom window on the second floor to escape his cousin's wrath. And Roxas had spent all morning searching Myspace for Axel's profile, just to see if he really did post the picture. He had no luck finding his guardian's profile.

Olette tilted her head when she noticed the look of murder on his face. "Roxas?"

He snapped out of his trance-like fury and looked up, locking eyes with her. "Hmm?"

"Is something wrong?" she asked, unable to control her chuckle. She had to admit he looked funny when he had an angry expression.

"Sora," Roxas growled through his teeth.

Olette sighed. "Figures."

"And Axel."

"Oh," she said, sounding surprised. "Really?"

"What would you say," Roxas questioned anxiously, "if I told you that they both had…"

He looked back into her emerald eyes and trailed off. Realizing that the two were alone, Roxas took a step towards Olette. Anticipating this, Olette also stepped forward and leaned in slightly.

However…

"I knew I could find you two here!" a familiar, unwanted voice chortled as it echoed throughout the hall.

Olette and Roxas quickly pulled back before anything happened. Roxas pouted, glaring at the floor. This made Olette smile instead. Her smile quickly disappeared when the source of the voice sprinted down the hall towards them. Sora appeared at Roxas' side, smirking widely. Roxas was suddenly trapped in Sora's headlock, his brunet cousin giving him a noogie oh so generously.

"No PDA in the halls you two!" Sora commented as Roxas grunted.

The comment unnerved Olette. Was Sora on to them?

"There's no public around, moron," Roxas snapped through clenched teeth. He struggled against Sora's hold, but was unable to escape. "Besides, we can do whatever we want! She is my girlfriend after all."

Olette almost squealed and broke out into a happy dance at the mention of the word. Roxas had never officially asked her to be his girlfriend, but then again the kiss said it all. She mentally slapped herself so as to rid herself of the large smile that suddenly appeared on her face. Roxas saying the 'G' word ended up making Sora laugh evilly. He seemed to tighten his hold on his blond cousin. Once again, Roxas grunted through tightly gritted teeth.

"Your first girlfriend in your entire life!" Sora ridiculed, cackling at the same time. "You're becoming a real man Roxas! Real enough to do this!"

That was when Sora took a rectangular silver digital camera out of one of the pockets on his pants. Roxas immediately stopped thrashing at the sight of the camera. Snickering, Sora held the digital camera in front of Olette's face. Her green eyes widened to double their size at the sight of the picture. The scene looked awfully familiar, a dark night out in Twilight Town and Olette wearing green eye shadow. That and the kiss Roxas was planting on the brunette. Olette's jaw dropped; she was speechless, unable to talk really. The shock was overwhelming, to say the least. Olette's reaction caused Sora to break out into more cackling. Roxas resumed his thrashing.

"Axel gave the camera to you!" Roxas shouted loudly and obviously angrily.

Olette had never heard Roxas raise his voice. She had to admit she slightly enjoyed it.

"Whoa there, skipper!" Sora snickered as he finally let go of his cousin.

Roxas stood back up straight. He glared daggers into the brunet as he continued holding out the digital camera. As Roxas glared, Sora smirked. Olette was only glad Roxas couldn't shoot lasers out of his eyes, because if he could Sora would have been dead by now.

"Sora," Roxas snarled, "give me the camera. _Now._"

"You think I didn't think ahead?" Sora sniggered, flicking his bangs out of his eyes. "I'm telling the truth when I say I have copies of this picture."

It was Olette's turn to stand up to Sora.

"Show anyone else that picture," she growled as she stood in front of Roxas, "and I'll hit you so hard with a baseball bat, you won't be able to remember the last ten years of your life!"

Sora laughed, holding out the camera to show them the brightly glowing picture again. "That's quite a threat." There was a moment of silence. "I think I'll take that risk!"

Sora dashed down the hall, waving the camera above his head and shouting something about Roxas making kissy faces with Olette. Very loudly at that. So loudly that the students in their classes were probably able to hear him. Roxas took off after his cousin, nothing more than a black and white blur. Olette remained next to her locker, slightly confused. A minute later she heard Roxas yell out a battle cry, Sora scream bloody murder comically, and then a crash. Olette smirked. Hopefully Roxas got a picture of _that_.

- x – x – x – x -

Olette munched on her slice of pizza. She savored the flavor of the pepperoni she was chewing on. Her face went blank. And then she suddenly felt like spitting out the piece of pizza in her mouth. Why did she decide to eat school food today? On the other side of the cafeteria, she could see the school's baseball team sitting with each other. The boys were talking and laughing with each other. Hayner and Pence sat on both sides of Roxas, who still looked like he was glowering. On the other side of Hayner sat Sora, who would glance nervously at his blond cousin. It seemed Roxas had taught him a lesson. Though he hadn't retrieved the digital camera from Sora. Not that it mattered, because Sora wouldn't dare show the picture to anyone anyway. Not after what Roxas did.

Roxas glanced up from his plate of food to look at Pence. His chubby friend said something, causing both he and Hayner to break out laughing. Olette smiled, her cheeks growing warm. Roxas must of felt her eyes on him because he glanced at her quickly. He flashed a smile for her before turning back to Pence. Olette stayed where she was smiling. Until someone sat themselves next to her suddenly. Olette quickly looked up to see Yuffie taking a seat on her right side. Kairi sat down next to Olette on her left. Selphie sat on the other side of the table across from her. Both Yuffie and Selphie were grinning mischievously while Kairi shook her head in what seemed to be disappointment.

"I'm telling you guys," the redhead said with music blasting loudly in her ears. "It won't work."

Olette blinked. "What won't work?"

"Did you know the boys have one weakness?" Selphie asked, still wearing her smirk.

Olette thought back on it. She remembered hearing something like that on her first day of school.

"We learned it from our softball coach, Miss Gainsborough, or Aerith as she prefers," Selphie continued somewhat happily.

Olette remembered the brunette woman with her long hair and pink ribbon. What was such a pretty woman doing coaching softball, Olette couldn't help but wonder. Come to think of it, she didn't know the name of the softball coach until now.

"The boys are really good at baseball," Yuffie continued for Selphie. "As much as we hate to admit it, they are. The thing is though, they're a bit…"

"You could say they have stage fright," Selphie went on, giggling.

Kairi shook her head again, her red bangs swishing in front of her face. "I still don't agree with exploiting this weakness."

"How are we doing that?" Olette asked slowly. The smirks on Selphie's and Yuffie's face gave her a bad feeling.

"We did you a favor," Yuffie snickered, placing a hand on Olette's shoulder. "You'll win for sure."

"Especially when half of the school shows up at the lot after we invited them!" Selphie spoiled with a huge grin on her face. Yuffie stared blankly at her, almost looking annoyed. "Oops. Did I ruin the surprise?"

Yuffie nodded.

Olette choked on her pizza. It was only after Kairi smacked her on the back repeatedly did she cry out, "You did _what_?"

Tifa and Fuu took a seat next to Selphie. The silver haired girl began eating away at her salad silently. Tifa, on the other hand, started conversation almost immediately.

"What's this I hear about the baseball game of the century?"

Olette groaned. _How could you Selphie and Yuffie? How?_

"I see it's already spreading around school," Selphie giggled, picking up an orange slice off her plate. Sighing, Kairi switched songs on her iPod.

"We're going to help Olette win for sure," Yuffie filled Tifa in. "Especially when the boys have to play in front of a crowd."

"Wait until they hear!" laughed Selphie, almost evilly.

"Genius," Fuu commented under her breath. Olette couldn't tell if that was a compliment or an insult.

"Positively evil," Tifa laughed, grinning. "I like it."

"And something tells me Larxene will like it too," Yuffie couldn't help but snicker.

"How many people should I expect at the lot?" Olette asked, afraid of the answer.

"Hopefully a lot," Selphie answered as she tapped her fork against her chin. "Olette, don't you want people to be there when you win? When you show everyone girls _can_ do whatever boys can do?"

Olette wasn't paying attention.

"Olette? Olette! OLETTE!"

"Why do you and Roxas keep giving each other googly eyes?" Kairi asked suddenly, snapping Olette out of her trance.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Olette yelped much too quickly. All the girls raised skeptic eyebrows at her. Oh, how Olette wished Kairi didn't notice the smiles she and Roxas would exchange every so often across the cafeteria.

"Anyway…" Tifa said to break the awkward silence hanging over their table.

Olette looked around when she noticed one girl seemed to be missing. "Say, where's Rikku?"

"She has her own friends you know," Selphie said. "They're weird too. I don't advise meeting them."

"Come on, Selphie," Yuffie disagreed as she pointed her fork at her in a stern manner. "Paine's not that bad."

Selphie scoffed, obviously in disagreement with her on that one.

"Yuna is actually pretty normal in comparison," Kairi commented, bobbing her head to a song.

Yuffie turned back to Selphie. "I invited them."

Selphie slammed her hands against the table, causing Tifa and Fuu to jump. "You did not!" she whined. Yuffie nodded, indicating that she did.

"I think we should wear uniforms then," Tifa mentioned, opening her carton of apple juice. "It's the last two innings after all. And if there's going to be a huge crowd we should dress to impress."

"We could wear our softball uniforms," Yuffie suggested. "But there's the matter of getting Olette, Larxene, Rikku and Naminé uniforms."

"No problem," Fuu spoke up quietly, finally glancing up to look at the rest of the girls.

Tifa nodded. "Fuu's right," she said. "We actually have spares. Aerith won't mind if we let you guys borrow them. What number do you want Olette?"

The green-eyed brunette shrugged. "Any number will do."

"You look like a seventeen," Kairi determined, turning her gaze to Olette.

"I'll see if we have a jersey with the number seventeen on it," Tifa assured with a smile. "Now I have to figure out what size Larxene is…"

"Naminé's number?" Fuu questioned simply.

"I think she likes zero…" Olette guessed. She didn't even think Naminé had a favorite number.

"I'll see what I can scrounge up," said Tifa. She went back to her lunch.

"I guess I'll go pick up Naminé after school to tell her what to expect," Olette sighed, hanging her head. Quite frankly, she didn't want to play in front of a crowd. But the deed was done. Hopefully no one would show up.

To lift her spirits, Olette glanced back across the cafeteria at the boys' table. Roxas looked up as well and smiled for her. Olette returned the smile.

"You and Roxas did it again," Kairi said as she noticed the exchange of smiles for a second time.

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about!"

- x – x – x – x -

Olette rushed out of school, bidding her team farewell until she went back to the lot with Naminé by her side. The girls waved and watched as Olette hurried down the sidewalk. The girls quickly left the school campus, giggling, when they saw the boys exit the building. Eight minutes later, Olette's house came into view. She flew up the steps and zoomed into her house.

"Hello Ollie," her dad greeted with a smile. "How was–"

"Can't talk!" Olette interrupted with a rushed voice as she hurried up the stairs. Her father remained in the living room, feeling slightly confused.

The brunette entered her room and quietly closed her door behind her. She turned around to face her empty room. Why was it empty?

Olette raised an eyebrow. "Naminé?"

"That you, Olette?" Naminé stuck her head out of the closet. The blonde was frowning. "Why did your dad come home early? He almost caught me in the kitchen!"

Olette sighed with a frown of her own. _The kitchen again, Naminé?_ "I came to pick you up," she said as she made her way over to the closet. Her best friend stepped out of it. "Our team kind of… did us a favor."

"What sort of favor?" Naminé asked with a mischievous tone of voice.

"One that _should_ help our team win," replied Olette. _Or help us lose miserably._

Both of them could hear someone knocking on the door down on the first floor.

"Come on, Olette! What is this favor?" Naminé exasperated, placing one of her hands on her waist.

"How are you two doing?" the girls heard Olette's dad welcome from downstairs after opening the door. "How is Naminé doing?"

The blonde's cerulean eyes widened from pure horror. Olette felt perplexed, until she realized who was standing on her front porch. The girls ran over to Olette's bedroom window and poked their heads out. They peered down to see a blonde couple standing in front of Olette's dad, both acting worried.

"We were hoping you would know," Naminé's mother said softly, the worry evident in her voice.

"Our daughter has been missing for some time," her father added in, sounding just as concerned for Naminé.

Olette's dad looked taken aback. "What? Really? I'm sorry to hear that!"

Naminé's mom looked crestfallen. "So you haven't seen Naminé around?"

"Afraid not," Olette's father said solemnly, shaking his head. "Olette will be so upset when she hears that."

Olette snapped her head around to send a glare at Naminé. The blonde smiled innocently, as if to apologize. They both pulled their heads back into the room. Olette began pacing as Naminé remained standing with her hands together. Her eyes followed her best friend as the pacing continued. The panic was starting to settle in: Playing in front of a large crowd, Naminé possibly getting taken back home before the game ended, and the possibility of losing. Olette was going to pull her hair out. She stopped in her tracks and spun around to face Naminé.

"We can't take the front door," Olette said when she heard her father invite Naminé's parents in. Unfortunately, they obliged and stepped into the house. "We'll sneak down the drainpipe."

Naminé's face lit up. "Ooh! I like climbing!"

"I know you do," Olette grumbled whilst making her way over to her bedroom window.

She pulled it open and motioned for Naminé to follow after her. Olette stepped out onto the ledge first. She grappled onto whatever ledge she could grab for dear life. She made the mistake of looking down. The possibility of falling and dying suddenly became real. Trying not to hyperventilate, Olette began wall-climbing her way over to the drainpipe. Smiling, Naminé stepped out of the window and followed after her with grace. Olette reached out towards the drainpipe with a quivering hand.

Noticing this, Naminé said, "Don't worry Ollie. It's easier than you think."

Olette's eye twitched, overcome with sudden annoyance. As this happened, the front door beneath the girls opened up slowly. Naminé's parents walked out onto the porch, bidding Olette's father farewell. They stood in front of the door as Olette's dad was about to say goodbye in return. He never got to because he was interrupted by his daughter's scream.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?"

All three parents looked up at the sound of the voice. Olette's sudden outburst surprised Naminé to the point where she thought she was going to have a heart attack. Her hand slipped and she started flailing about to regain her balance on the ledge. Instead, the blonde ended up grabbing onto Olette's sleeve. Doing this caused Olette's hand to slip as well. Both girls went tumbling from the second story bedroom window. Olette landed flat on her stomach on the hard pavement of the porch. Naminé came tumbling in after Olette. The blonde girl landed right on the brunette's back, practically snapping Olette's spine in half.

"Oww…" Naminé whined as she rubbed her rear end in pain.

"Ooowww…" Olette groaned loudly, losing all feeling in her back. Naminé was a lot heavier than she looked. The girls remained sprawled out on the ground with their parents looming over them. They peered up with innocent grins. At least their parents looked shocked rather than angry. But once Olette started explaining what the heck Naminé was doing sitting on top of her, she would be surprised if she lived to be sixteen.

"Hi Daddy! Hi Mommy!" Naminé chimed, giving off her best smile.

The blonde's innocent demeanor must have given her away, because Naminé's parents crossed their arms and darkened their expressions.

"Olette…?" the brunette's father spoke up slowly, still looking bewildered.

"I know this looks suspicious," Olette tittered, still trapped underneath Naminé. "But I have a very good explanation for this."

"Do tell why you and Naminé were trying to sneak out through your bedroom window," her dad played along, his tone turning serious. He, too, crossed his arms. "Better yet, explain why Naminé is even here in the first place."

"Um…"

"Missy!" Naminé's mother snapped harshly, wagging a stern finger at her daughter. "You're in a lot of trouble for running away!"

Naminé pouted. Olette was reluctant, but looked back up at her father.

"How long were you hiding Naminé?" the man demanded, glowering down at his brunette daughter.

"Well…"

"It's not Olette's fault!" Naminé lied as she finally got off her best friend. She helped Olette up. "Really! She's innocent!"

"Of course she is," Naminé's mother spoke up. "We know Olette is a good kid. You, however, are a troublemaker!"

"You're in a lot of trouble, Missy," her father cut in, snatching Naminé's arm.

"You didn't even hear my side of the story!" Naminé argued, stomping her foot.

Olette's father pulled her towards himself. "Sorry for troubling you," he apologized. He turned his glare back to Olette. "My daughter is a lot more trouble than people suspect."

"No, we're sorry for troubling you," Naminé's mother apologized as the blonde couple started pulling their daughter away.

Olette broke away from her father's grasp when she realized what was going on. "Wait! You can't take Naminé back home yet!"

"Olette!" her dad hissed. He grabbed her arm once more and pulled her back to his side.

Naminé struggled against her father's hold. She shot Olette a distressed look from over her shoulder.

"Wait! Olette needs my help!"

"You're in so much trouble when we get home Naminé," her mother scolded, both parents ignoring their daughter's argument. The three blondes continued down the sidewalk. They disappeared around the corner.

Olette struggled against her father's hold, trying to yank her arm back. "Naminé!"

It was no use. Naminé's parents had dragged her away from her, far away enough so that she couldn't hear Olette's yelling.

"You were hiding Naminé from us this whole time, Olette?" her father asked sternly, loosening his grip on her arm. She yanked her arm back and looked up at her dad darkly. "But why, Olette?"

"Because!" Olette yelled, her fists balling up. "She's my best friend! And ever since we moved I've been miserable without her! You and Mom didn't care at all about how I felt!"

After letting out all her held in feelings, Olette brushed past her father and took off running towards the lot. There was no point in running after Naminé. Her parents wouldn't let Olette drag the blonde to the baseball lot anyway. She lost her best friend, her shortstop, and now most likely the game. Olette forced the tears back, not wanting to cry angrily at that moment. Olette's father, tall and dark haired, remained standing out on the front porch. The poor man felt much too bewildered to understand what had just happened. Teenagers…

The sight of the lot made Olette skid to a halt. The crowd was much larger than she had expected. In fact, it really did look like everyone from school decided to come and watch the game. There was a loud murmur among the huge crowd as people got comfortable in their seats. Someone had even managed to set up some bleachers around the lot. Olette wrung her hands together nervously.

_Bleachers? Bleachers!_

Seated in the bleachers was an audience. Olette couldn't help but notice the familiar softball coach the girls called Aerith. And sitting next to her was even the baseball coach, Leon. The rest of the Sunny Side softball team that decided not to help out Olette sat on the front row of some bleachers, chatting amongst each other. While several of the boys were in their dugout, the rest were out in the outfield, yelling at Olette's team. Among the yelling group was Sora, throwing his arms above his head angrily. Olette noticed Yuffie and Selphie snickering to themselves. Clearly, the boys didn't like the idea of playing in front of a crowd. Well, neither did Olette. This was supposed to be a game that gave her the right to play on the baseball team. Not show the world that girls were equal to boys. Though, that was sort of a mission of Olette's to begin with. Olette's green eyes drifted to the girls in the outfield. They smiled among each other, stretching and practicing before the start of the game. Olette became crestfallen. She dreaded the moment when she would have to break the news about Naminé to them.

Deciding to avoid the girls for several more minutes, Olette descended into the girls' dugout. She leaned against the wiring of the dugout, burying her hands into her pockets. She was soon joined by Roxas, to her delight. He leaned against the wiring beside her, his arms crossed together. Olette noticed a Sunny Side baseball cap on his head. The sight of the cap made her smile for a millisecond. She soon returned to her deadpanned expression. After a moment of silence, Roxas looked at her.

"Any reason why you're in here by yourself?" he asked.

Olette looked up. "I'm not by myself."

Roxas laughed to himself. He looked back out at the outfield to where Sora was still yelling. The brunet was now blue in the face. Roxas shook his head and sighed.

"Why aren't you with the rest of the girls?"

"I have bad news, is why," Olette responded, her voice growing quiet.

"Why? What's wrong?" Roxas questioned with a worried tone.

Olette couldn't help but smile slightly. "It's about Naminé."

"Is she okay?"

Olette shifted on her feet for a moment. "I didn't tell the others," she whispered, "but Naminé ran away from home. The only reason she didn't go back home was because she told me she would help me win this game. But her parents found her and are taking her back home." Olette sighed and hung her head, hiding her face from Roxas with her bangs.

"You're just short one person," Roxas tried cheering up. Olette groaned loudly, almost irritatingly. Roxas smiled anxiously and rubbed the back of his neck. He was never good with these kinds of moments. "Come on, Olette. I don't like it when you're sad."

"My best friend was just taken away from me," she commented annoyingly, giving Roxas an irritated look.

"Knowing Naminé," Roxas chuckled, "she'll find a way back to you."

"Yeah, that's true," Olette sighed, remembering Naminé's somewhat headstrong stubbornness.

Roxas glanced past Olette to the crowd seated around the lot. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked away. There was a nervous feeling swelling up in the pit of his stomach.

"Um… why is there a huge audience here?"

"Blame Selphie and Yuffie," sighed Olette while running her hand through her hair. "Think of it as cheating."

Roxas smiled. "Well, as long as you win, I don't care."

"Aw, how sweet," Olette cooed mockingly, pulling on Roxas' cheek.

"Hey," he laughed as he swatted her hand away. "Cut it out."

"Well," she sighed heavily. "Better go break the news to the girls." She looked back up at Roxas quickly. "I'm not giving up yet, though."

Roxas smiled softly again as the dugout quieted. He placed a hand on Olette's shoulder. "Good luck, Olette."

She nodded when he returned his hand to his side. The boy stood in front of her awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. After several more seconds, Roxas turned on his heels and headed out of the dugout. Olette sighed and rested her headed against the wiring. She then saw Roxas skid to a halt by the time he reached the home plate. He spun back around on his heels and headed back over to the girls' dugout. He walked through the gate and approached Olette. She leaned against the wiring, confused. Roxas pulled off his baseball cap, running his hand through his spikes. He averted his eyes to his feet before placing his cap on Olette's head. He then quickly leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He pulled back, Olette vividly surprised. He resumed to rubbing the back of his head, feeling extremely awkward. Olette just stared up at him blankly.

"That was… for good luck," he explained with a stammering voice. He stepped backwards, still trying to explain his actions. He quickly turned around to leave, but ran into the gate. He grunted and stumbled back, holding his nose. Olette giggled to herself. Roxas quickly looked at her, his face completely red. "I did that on purpose," he lied, gesturing to the gate. He yanked it open and trudged away with whatever shred of dignity he had left.

Olette giggled to herself again, and then rearranged Roxas' cap on her head. Football players gave their girlfriends letterman jackets. Apparently baseball players gave their girlfriends baseball caps. Smiling, Olette hurried over to the outfield where the rest of the team was stretching out on the grass. Kairi, Yuffie and Selphie all looked up at Olette when she approached them. The three girls were smirking mischievously up at her.

"We. Saw. Everything," they all snickered simultaneously.

"Shuddup," Olette muttered under her breath as she took a seat in the grass next to Kairi. She then began doing butterfly stretches.

"He even gave you his hat," Yuffie snickered, nudging Olette in the side with her elbow. "He digs you."

"You and Roxas are so cute!" Selphie squealed, flailing her arms in the same manner as Naminé. The loud squealing earned the attention of the rest of the girls on the team.

Blushing, Olette continued stretching in silence. She looked around for another blonde. "And Rikku?"

"Over there." Kairi gestured behind them while trying to not pull out one of her ear buds. "She's talking with her best friends."

Olette peered over her shoulder. The bubbly blonde was near the fence, grappling on to it while chatting away. On the other side of the fence were two girls around the same age. One had dull colored hair sticking up unnaturally. Just like Fuu, she had crimson eyes representing the intimidation of the girl. Her complexion was pale, slightly sickly. She was clothed in black clothing, only making the girl seem even harder to approach. Why was someone like that affiliated with _Rikku_? The second girl standing next to the black-clad female was a brunette, her hair cut short and sticking out near the ends. Her eyes were strangely multicolored, one blue and the other green. She was sun kissed and smiling at Rikku.

"Good luck with the game, Rikku!" Yuna chirped, tilting her head to one side as she smiled.

"Let's hope you win," Paine added while nodding her head, her arms crossed over her chest. "Play your best."

"I will!" Rikku sang. "I've been practicing a lot! I'm even getting better!"

Yuffie scoffed at the mention of this. When Olette looked at her questioningly she only returned back to stretching. Yuffie struggled to touch her toes on her left foot with both her hands. Olette looked back at the trio. After conversing for a few more seconds, the girls bade farewell with each other. Yuna and Paine went and sat over at a table closest to the fence. On the long collapsible table were several microphones and a handheld scoreboard with the numbers nineteen and sixteen on it. Frowning, Olette turned to her three friends.

"You guys even got announcers?" she growled. She yelped when she realized she was stretching to far for comfort.

Yuffie rolled her eyes and glimpsed over at Selphie. "She practically forced them to do it. I told her we didn't need announcers to make it an authentic baseball game, though."

"Yes we do!" Selphie snapped. "Besides, I paid them to make nasty remarks about the boys over the microphones."

Olette sighed after rolling her eyes just as Rikku joined them in their stretching circle. The bubbly blonde placed both her legs in front of her and began trying to touch her toes.

"Yuna and Paine are excited!" she announced after successfully touching her toes.

"They all seem pretty excited," Larxene agreed, gesturing with her head towards the large crowd. While everyone else was excited, Olette was becoming more and more nervous.

Roxas sat on a bench on one side of the boys' dugout, far away from the rest of his team. Sora was surrounded by the rest of the boys, whispering quietly to them. After a moment of silence, all the boys surrounding Sora broke out into loud peals of laughter. Roxas looked up in curiosity, raising an eyebrow. The boys quickly glanced over at Roxas, smirking. When they caught sight of him they started chortling loudly again. Now Roxas was just confused. Hayner and Pence stumbled over to him. Hayner sat himself next to Roxas, gasping for breath through laughter. He placed his hand on Roxas' shoulder, calming himself down.

"Dude, Roxas. Nice choice," Hayner complimented, winking.

"I didn't think you, of all people, would get the guts to do that," Pence added with a laugh.

Roxas raised an eyebrow again. "What are you two talking about?"

The boys in the dugout started cracking up again. Some even had to hold their sides from laughing so hard. Rai began crying tears of laughter while Seifer had to support himself on the wiring of their dugout. Sora shoved his way through the boys and appeared in front of Roxas, laughing and smirking.

"They're talking about this!" the brunet chortled. He held up a familiar digital camera in front of Roxas' face. The horror practically erupted on Roxas' face. He was staring at the picture Axel and Sora had the nerve to take. And Sora had just showed it to the whole baseball team without him knowing.

"SORA!"

The next thing the boys in the dugout knew, Roxas lunged from the bench and tackled Sora to the ground. The digital camera flew out of the brunet's hand. Sora let out a scream of terror while his cousin roared with ferocity. The two began rolling around on the ground, Roxas wrapping his fingers tightly around Sora's neck. The brunet tried prying the blond's hands away from his neck as he started suffocating. The two boys both rolled over the digital camera, shutting it off. Grunting and shouting could be heard in the dugout. Rather than doing something about it, the boys gathered around the two fighting cousins and began cheering and chanting names.

Everything was more peaceful out on the outfield, to say the least. There was certainly no strangling going on.

"Here you go, Rikku," Tifa said after stretching some more. She tossed a large jersey at the girl.

Rikku pulled the softball jersey over her head. She stretched the shirt out to get a glimpse of her number. Olette snuck a look too. Rikku was officially number twenty-three on their team. After looking around, Olette realized everyone was wearing a jersey. She looked over at the boys' dugout. Despite all the chanting, cheering, and what looked like a struggle going on (Olette could only guess between who) she was able to notice all the boys were wearing Sunny Side baseball caps. They must have caught on to the girls if they were all wearing similar hats. She turned her attention back to the girls when Rikku squealed.

"Thanks guys!" squeaked Rikku happily.

Larxene stood up and posed like a model. "I got one too. Apparently I'm number fourteen," she laughed lightly, twirling to show off her new jersey. She quickly plopped back down on the grass.

Olette looked at the girls. Rikku was twenty-three while Larxene was fourteen. Yuffie gladly showed off her jersey with the number eight on it. Kairi was eleven, Selphie was thirty, Fuu was two and Tifa was twenty-five. A jersey was thrown at Olette's head. She yelped and quickly pulled the article of clothing off. She glanced up to see the rest of the girls smiling at her.

"It just so happens we had a jersey with the number seventeen on it," Tifa laughed, relaxing on the grass.

Olette held the jersey up in her hands. Sure enough, there was a large white seventeen on it. The jersey was a dark blue, almost black, color just like the others'. It was an official Sunny Side softball jersey. Smiling, Olette quickly pulled it on. She stood up and pretended to pose like Larxene, causing several of the girls to laugh.

"How do I look?"

"Like a professional baseball player," Kairi joked. "Except, you know, with a softball jersey on."

"Oh, yeah!" Tifa exclaimed, sitting up. She pulled out one last jersey from the dwindling pile behind her. She held it up to reveal the number on the jersey to Olette. Looking at it, she saw a 00. It took a moment for Olette to realize the number was zero, like she had suggested for Naminé. "I found a number zero jersey for Naminé, like you said to do," Tifa explained with a smile. She looked around suddenly with a blank look. Soon, the other girls joined in and Olette could feel her doom nearing. "Hey, where _is_ Naminé?"

"Yeah," Selphie said suspiciously. She turned to Olette. "I thought you said you were going to go get her."

Now all the girls turned to Olette, eyeing her suspiciously. The poor girl was now drowning in her nerves, unable to think of something to say. So she decided to tell the truth.

"Well," Olette began nervously. "About Naminé…"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	16. Chapter 16

Two blonde adults could be seen dragging behind them another blonde through the streets of Twilight Town. As their daughter struggled against their hold, the two blonde parents forced her in the general direction of the train station. Just as the building came into view, Naminé gave one final yank of her arm. Her father lost his grip and her arm slithered free. The two parents came to a halt as Naminé stood defiantly in front of them, an expression of stubbornness all over her face. The parents blinked at their daughter, waiting for whatever protest she had for them.

"I told you!" the blonde girl snapped loudly, earning the family of three unwanted attention of the passersby headed into the train station. "I need to stay and help Olette!"

"What could you possibly help Olette with?" her mother exasperated as she rubbed her temples.

Naminé's father crossed his arms, glowering. "You expect us to let you do anything after running away?"

"But you don't understand! I need to stay!" Naminé whined, stomping her foot. If she couldn't get her parents to listen, then maybe a temper tantrum would. It certainly earned her the eyes of the bystanders nearby. "I told Olette I would help her win a baseball game and prove girls can do whatever boys can do!"

While Naminé's mother looked intrigued by this proclaimed information, her father snorted. Naminé's cerulean eyes flickered in his direction. Her father held his nose in the air, obviously not impressed with his daughter's excuse. There was a sort of haughty impression about him now. His wife gave him an annoyed side-glance.

"That's silly, Naminé," he laughed scathingly. "Besides, everyone knows boys are better at baseball than girls."

Naminé narrowed her eyes, somehow plucking one blonde eyebrow up at the same time. Her father suddenly made Sora's face pop up in her mind. The two would get along, that much she was certain of. Now she knew how Olette felt.

"Oh, really?" Naminé's mother asked slowly, turning on him. "And not just baseball? Boys are better at everything else, huh?"

Naminé's father looked startled by his wife's sudden change in mood. He even stepped back in surprise, wondering just what the heck the woman was thinking. She was supposed to be helping him scold their daughter about her reckless behavior, not challenge him about the never ending Battle of the Sexes! But nonetheless, he remained strong. He straightened his posture and looked down at Naminé's petite mother. "Well, obviously. When it comes to sports, boys are just better. They're physically stronger than girls, no matter what one thinks."

"Everyone knows that's not true!" the blonde's mother argued. Naminé watched in amusement as her parents began debating with each other. She tilted her head, finding the sight hilarious, as the arguing went on. "Just because you're a girl doesn't mean you don't stand a chance against a boy. In fact, there _are_ some girls stronger than boys."

Her dad scoffed again. "Are you comparing teenaged girls to little ten-year-old boys?"

Naminé's mother looked like she was just slapped in the face. She even turned a light shade of red in the face, the color contrasting greatly against her usual ivory tone. Their heated debate was now the thing earning them the attention of the people headed for the train station. Naminé tried to hide her smirk as her father's comment angered her mother even more. She suppressed her giggling as best she could.

"No! I'm comparing teenaged girls to teenaged boys!" the woman spat with venom in her voice. Her voice rose to an uncomfortable volume for her husband. "But it doesn't matter what age! There are girls who can play just as rough as boys."

"But, physically speaking, boys are stronger than girls," Naminé's father threw out with a softer voice than his wife. It was an attempt of his to get her to lower her own voice.

"So you're saying I can't take you right here, right now?" his wife challenged, almost getting into position to tackle him.

The blonde's father stepped back in surprise once more. He was especially worried that if he said anything wrong his wife was really going to tackle him to prove her point. Naminé's eyes lit up as she leaned forward in anticipation. She would pay to see her parents have a smack down. So far, it looked like she was going to get to watch for free. Especially if her father kept this up.

"Well…" Naminé's dad faltered. But he wanted to prove just as much as his wife that he was right. "Yes. Physically, I can beat you in any sport." His tone of voice wasn't as confident as his statement.

"And I think," Naminé's mom said haughtily, "that I could beat you, even if I am a female."

"But girls _are not_ stronger than boys!"

"And I'm saying girls _are_ as strong or even stronger than boys!"

Naminé jumped when her mother turned quickly from her husband to her. The teen wasn't aware that people such as her parents would take this topic so seriously. Especially her mother. When it came to arguing, the two were usually doing it together with Naminé, and never against each other. Naminé's dad seemed to sigh out of relief when his wife looked away from him. Her mother's expression softened to a sweet smile. She placed her hands on her knees and bent down to Naminé's height. The blonde teen stepped back a smidge, just in case her mom decided to pounce her instead of her dad.

"Naminé, go help Olette," the woman said kindly. She quickly turned back to her husband, her soft expression being replaced by her previous frown. He gulped, paling a bit. "And help her show them that girls _can_ do whatever boys can do."

"Thanks Mommy!" Naminé chimed, waving over her shoulder as she ran off. She only hoped her mother would go easy on her dad. But knowing the females in her family, that wasn't about to happen. If anything, her dad was going to need nothing short of a miracle by now. She didn't want to be there, anyway, when they started their wrestling match to see just exactly which gender was stronger. Well, she did; but she figured the sight itself would be too embarrassing for her to watch. Especially if her dad was the one losing to her mom.

The only thing on Naminé's mind was getting to the lot before it was too late.

- x – x – x – x -

Roxas stormed out of the boys' dugout, grumbling to himself. The rest of his baseball team surrounded a semi-conscious Sora, checking to see if he stopped breathing. If this kept up, the boys might need to call an ambulance for future purposes. Sighing, Roxas put the digital camera in his pocket. His face flushed at the thought of carrying the very device that record probably the best night of his life. Maybe he would keep the camera and print out the picture… in secrecy of course. After running his hand through his blonde hair, Roxas looked up over at the outfield. He couldn't help but look over at Olette first. The boy would have smiled had it not been for the brunette's panicked appearance. She looked distressed as her lips moved quickly; she was also talking with her hands. The jaws of all the girls on her team dropped.

Roxas saw Yuffie throw up her arms as she shouted with a shrill tone, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN NAMINÉ IS GONE?"

The blond pitcher cringed at the volume of her voice. The girls surrounded Olette in a confused frenzy, demanding answers out of the poor girl. She was swallowed up by their sudden huddle, disappearing from Roxas' sight. Just as Roxas was about to rush over to his girl's side and help her out, he heard a distinct voice among the crowd that had formed around the lot. His eye twitched at the sound of the familiar voice.

"Oooooooh Rooooooxas!"

The boy quickly spun on his heels to find the source of the singsong voice. Roxas gawked at the sight when his eyes landed on the very person he was still upset with. Axel wasn't hard to spot since he was right at the fence, leaning over it as far as he could. Roxas' guardian waved enthusiastically, wearing a sickly sweet smile on his face. He was leaning over the fence, making sure Roxas saw his flailing limb. Roxas almost dropped dead at the sight of the people standing next to Axel. It was bad enough that Axel actually came to watch the game. But he had to bring _them_. The mullet. The goatee thing. The pink hair. The eye patch. They weren't exactly hard to miss.

"Axel?" Roxas choked with a cracking voice after he rushed over to the fence to meet up with his guardian. He made sure to look as angry as possible, but probably ended up looking stunned. "What are you doing here?" The young boy quickly glanced over at Demyx, Marluxia, Luxord, and Xigbar. He tried his hardest not to shudder. "And what are your poker buddies doing here?"

"Well, if it isn't little Roxy!" Demyx cooed annoyingly as he, too, leaned over the fence. He then began pulling Roxas' cheek like he did every time he saw the young blond, making Roxas grunt. "Long time no see! My, you've grown!"

"You just saw him last month," Xigbar chuckled.

Demyx pouted it the eye patch-wearing man. "And he has grown! Two inches, I believe."

"We just _had_ to come see you play this game," Axel snickered, still leaning over the fence. "We saw this huge crowd form, only to realize it was a baseball game with yours and Sora's team."

"We could be at the house, playing poker now," Luxord sighed, obviously irritated with the sudden change in plans. "But no. We're going to watch a baseball game among teenagers."

"Lighten up," Marluxia commented. "Baseball is a great sport. Plus, girls are playing." The pink haired man wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he elbowed the blond accented man in the side. Roxas tried to control his stomach from purging itself.

"That's the only upside," Luxord complained, crossing his arms with a pout.

Roxas' face turned red. "They're _younger_ than all of you!"

Axel snickered evilly. That was when Roxas knew he had made a mistake on his part.

"Careful guys," the blond's guardian chuckled with a gleefully malevolent tone. "You wouldn't want to make Roxas jealous. After all, his girlfriend is the one who's pitching for the girls."

Roxas could feel his face turn completely red as Demyx's face lit up suddenly. And Demyx's face lighting up was never a good thing.

"Oh! Is that the one he was swapping spit with in that picture you showed us?" inquired Demyx happily. There was a wide smile present on his face.

Mentioning the picture made Axel smirk proudly. Roxas' jaw dropped. If it wasn't attached to his head it might have hit the ground.

"You showed them the picture?" Roxas yelled demandingly, waving his arms angrily.

"Showed them?" Axel laughed loudly. He was obviously enjoying his godson's misery. "I printed them copies!"

That was when Axel pulled out the picture of Roxas and Olette and held it up in the air. He waved it slightly as he leered, taunting Roxas. The blond's face turned so red when Axel and his friends broke out into loud laughter, his face could have put even the ripest tomato to shame. The five grown men continued their chortling, supporting themselves on each other. Axel held the photo high above his head, waving it around. Roxas ran up to the fence and jumped into the air, his arm stretched out. But Axel was just too tall for him. The photograph was just _centimeters_ away from the blond's grasp.

"Do I see a little bit of tongue in that picture?" Luxord cooed teasingly, enough to cause all of Roxas' face to flush red. Even Axel's hair could not compare to the poor blond's blush. Marluxia and Luxord broke out into strident peals of laughter. This didn't help Roxas' pride at all.

"Our little Roxy is growing up!" Demyx guffawed, leaning against Xigbar's shoulder as he wiped away a tear.

"Don't call me that!" Roxas demanded, trying to hide the blush that just wouldn't leave his face. Why was it that these five grown men were acting like immature high school boys? Roxas groaned inwardly; it was because deep down, these five _were_ nothing more than high school boys. He continued reaching for the snapshot while standing on his toes as the five continued laughing like a bunch of morons.

Axel finally stopped laughing long enough to glance over at the outfield where the girls were still ambushing Olette. The other four quieted down their laughing, though it was still present among the group. Roxas followed his guardian's gaze momentarily, only to have his own eyes land on his girlfriend. He quickly looked back at Axel to see the man smirking down at him. The heat rushed back to the blond's face.

"Is Olette wearing your baseball cap, Roxas?" the fire-haired man chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows.

Roxas held his head up high, trying to hold on to whatever was left of his massacred pride. He turned his back to the five and crossed his arms, his sapphire eyes closed from humiliating frustration. "I gave it to her. So what?"

"Young love!" Marluxia sighed dreamily, clasping his hands together mockingly. He looked up to the sky, his eyes glimmering sardonically. The other four snickered loudly at the act. "They say it never lasts."

The men began cracking up again. Some slapped their upper thighs while the others tried supporting themselves on their friends in fear of collapsing to the ground from laughing so hard. Roxas furrowed his brows. They were just as bad as the boys on his team. Maybe even worse. Grumbling, Roxas lunged at the photo in Axel's hand once more. His guardian saw this coming and held the photographed picture above his head in time. Roxas struggled all he could to reach for it, but he could never grab the picture. Doing so ended up making the laughter of the five men louder. Suddenly, almost eerily, the laughter stopped.

Xigbar looked over at Axel, now the one wearing the taunting smirk. "Hey Axel," he snickered. "Isn't that Larxene over there?" Almost immediately, a horrified expression erupted onto Axel's face.

"WHAT?" Axel whipped his head around to the outfield. Larxene was currently standing beside Olette, acting as her bodyguard. For the first time in his life, Roxas saw Axel pale. The blond hitched an eyebrow and crossed his arms, giving his guardian a lopsided smirk.

"Well, what do you know?" Luxord snickered, elbowing Marluxia in the ribs. "It _is_ Larxene."

"Time to go," Axel said so quickly it sounded like one word slurred together. Roxas noticed the hint of genuine fear in his godfather's voice. Axel turned on his heels, ready to make a run for it, but his poker buddies held him down. Roxas' smirk only grew in size. So it turned out Axel _did_ have a weakness. It took Roxas' years to figure out, but he found it. Short-tempered, sadistic women.

"No, no," Luxord chided mockingly. "We skipped out on poker for this. So we're going to watch the baseball game." His voice seemed to darken dangerously when he mentioned the game of poker they were skipping out on. If it weren't for Luxord, the five wouldn't even _have_ a poker team. Axel squirmed restlessly against his friends' holds, but failed miserably.

"Won't it be fun if you and Larxene meet up again? Get to catch up on old times?" Marluxia tormented with a satirically sweet tone, the taunting leer clear and vivid on his face. His comment only caused more violent squirming from Axel, the fire-haired man's eyes widening from horror.

Demyx turned back to Roxas, grinning. "Good luck on your game, Roxy!" he sang as the four of them dragged Axel away, who was now crying about 'wanting to get away from the crazy, psychotic woman as fast as possible.'

Roxas scowled suddenly. "Don't call me _that_!" He suddenly understood why Olette disliked her nickname so much. He watched the screaming Axel and his snickering friends blend into the still ever growing crowd. As the five men disappeared, he could have sworn he heard Axel scream bloody murder,

"BUT SHE'LL SENSE MY PRESENCE! AND THEN I'M A DEAD MAN!"

Roxas shook his head in revulsion, but couldn't help but snicker. There were either two reasons Axel wanted to avoid Larxene at all costs. One: She was a girl he promised to call and never did. Or two: She was the girl he bailed out on the very next day. Roxas shuddered at the thought. Leave it to his godfather to be licentious. The blond teen only prayed that neither of those possibilities were true.

It was only after Roxas heard Seifer chortle noisily, "Hey! I wonder who else Roxas made out with!" did he hurry back to the dugout. Unadulterated violence was on his mind, though. Sora wasn't the only one going to be in pain after this.

"What do you mean Naminé is gone?" Selphie gasped, her expression physically proving how alarmed the light brunette was.

Olette rubbed the back of her neck, averting her eyes to the side. Her emerald colored orbs landed on the boys' dugout, unintentionally. She could have sworn she saw Roxas lunge at Seifer and attach himself to the centerfielder's back in the dugout. Deciding she'd rather not know, she directed her eyes to her feet and hung her head. She shielded her face with Roxas' hat she was still wearing. The girls surrounded her, waiting in silence.

"She's coming back, though, isn't she?" Tifa asked, being the first to break the unbearable silence.

Olette glanced back up at them. There was apologetic regret swimming about in her emerald pools. The girls shifted uncomfortably where they stood, understanding their team captain's silent response. Kairi appeared by Olette's side. The redhead placed a sympathetic hand on Olette's shoulder.

"It's okay, Olette," Kairi said a bit more loudly than she should have. The music blasting deafeningly in her ears prevented her from hearing just how loud she was talking. "We can still make it with one less person on the team."

"We're gonna lose!" Rikku wailed, thrashing her arms about in a frenzy as tears swelled up in her green eyes. She fell to her knees, the blades of grass stinging her flesh slightly. The girls watched the ditzy blonde go at it, raising anxious eyebrows and sporting tense smiles.

Yuffie grinned widely suddenly as she stuck out her hand and held up her thumb. The girls looked away from Rikku to look at the ebony-haired centerfielder. "No worries, guys!" Yuffie exclaimed with a laugh. "We can make it without a shortstop!"

"Way to stay optimistic," Larxene chuckled, placing her hands on her hips.

"If we try, we can still win," Tifa agreed with a nod of her head. Fuu nodded in concord.

The girls fell back into silence, with the exception of Rikku still crying. Wanting some form of entertainment, the girls turned to look at the blonde. Her arms were still flailing about above her head as she continued going on about losing. She remained in the grass, sitting on her knees. For several more minutes, the blonde acted like it was the end of the world. The girls watched in amusement as the freak out continued. Finally, Rikku quieted down. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. She looked up at Olette and smiled toothily.

"I'm good now," Rikku chimed, tilting her head to the side. Several of the girls sighed exasperatedly.

"Only you, Rikku…" Yuffie muttered, holding her forehead in her hand. Rikku only smiled more widely.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" the boys chanted excitedly from the dugout.

The girls whipped their heads around and stared wide-eyed at what was going on. The boys were huddled together in a circle, pumping their fists into the air and jumping around elatedly. Two people were struggling with each other in the middle of the circle, one grappling on for dear life to the other's back while the other flailed around in an attempt to rid them of the person clinging to their back. Both the fighters were blond-haired. It was hard to tell, but one thing was clear: Someone was getting their butt handed to them. Yuffie and Selphie turned to each other, both smirking.

"Twenty bucks says it's Roxas again!" Yuffie challenged.

Selphie's smirk grew to twice its size. "You're on!"

Olette frowned at the two with slightly outraged green eyes. "You guys!" she snapped.

"Can I participate in this bet?" Kairi teased, elbowing Olette in the ribs. Her little joke didn't bring a smile to the team's captain face. Actually, it brought a rather dark glower to Olette's face.

"Um… Olette?" Tifa tittered. She pointed over to the boys' dugout. Olette followed the trail of the catcher's finger, only to see that it was Roxas fighting his way through his teammates. The brunette sighed disappointingly and hung her head. Grumbling, she pulled out a ten-dollar bill and handed it to Yuffie. Selphie mimicked Olette and handed the raven-haired centerfielder whatever money she had on her.

"That boy's got some serious anger management issues," Larxene laughed as she slapped Olette on the back.

"Better stop them before they kill each other," Kairi exasperated with a shake of her head. Her bangs fell onto her face after doing so. "If they all die, we'll have no one to play against."

"The crowd would probably be more entertained with the boys going at it than us playing against them," Yuffie joshed, trailing after Kairi to the boys' dugout.

- x – x – x – x -

Naminé sprinted down the street, the wind rushing past her. Her hair flowed out behind her like a long blonde cape. The sun shined off it as she continued hurrying across Twilight Town at top speed. She could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears like a drum from all the running she had done. But the blonde wanted to get as far away from the train station as possible. If her mother decided to change her mind, Naminé would be on the other side of Twilight Town by then. Plus, she needed to get to the lot before the game started.

Olette needed her. Knowing her brunette best friend, she was probably panicking about her lack of a shortstop. Naminé couldn't help but smile to herself as she dashed around the curb, almost knocking a mother and her child over as she did so. Olette had taken the whole game so seriously. And since something like this had happen, she was probably pacing a hole in the ground by now, trying to come up with the best way to make up for her shortage of players. Naminé chuckled to herself. That was her Olette.

Something out of the peripheral of her vision instigated Naminé to skid to a complete halt. She stood frozen, straight upright and trying to catch her breath through heavy wheezing. Quickly, Naminé whipped her head to her left. Across the street was an ice cream stand, and today their Sea Salt Ice Cream was half off. Naminé's face lit up, a smile erupting onto her face instantly. She hopped up and down and clapped her hands together rapidly.

"Ice cream!" the blonde squealed. She raced across the street towards the ice cream stand, completely forgetting about the baseball game.

- x – x – x – x -

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!" Yuna greeted into the microphone, her tone of voice dripping with excitement. The audience cheered as an immediate response.

"Today, in the outfield, we have Sunny Side's Key Blades. And their opponent is…" Paine paused, looking the index card in her hand over again. She turned to Yuna, skepticism appearing suddenly on her face. "Is this for real? They called themselves the Sirens?"

"Just read it!" Yuna hissed after covering her mic with her hand. "Selphie already paid us, so we might as well read what we have to say."

Rolling her eyes, Paine continued reading off the index card in her usual monotone voice, "And the boys' opponent up to bat are the Sirens… Also known as the Sunny Side softball Key Blades."

She had added in the last bit of information so quickly, the crowd almost didn't hear it along with the girls' in the dugout. Paine and Yuna heard Selphie scold them all the way from the other side of the lot. Paine went back to rolling her crimson eyes. She was not paid enough to do this. The noise of the crowd was giving her a headache, the boys wouldn't stop encouraging Roxas to beat the living daylights out of the tall guy known as Seifer, and some of the things written on her flashcards were fairly cheesy. Plus, Wakka on the boys' team kept looking over at her to wink. Paine shuddered subconsciously. Most definitely not her type.

"It's the game known as the baseball game of the century!" Yuna continued when Paine refused to go on. Some students from Sunny Side roared and cheered over the rest of the crowd. This little show of school spirit (even though they were nowhere _near_ school) made a smile twitch onto Yuna's face. She resumed with her announcing in a cheery tone. "It's the eighth inning, and the boys are in the lead by three points with nineteen points all together."

The girls in the dugout and some sitting in the audience booed. This caused a few boys in the dugout to boo back at them out of bad sportsmanship, even shake their fists around in the air. Once the booing stopped, Yuna went on.

"The girls have sixteen points, and only need to catch up by three or get ahead by four in order to win this game."

"Why are the girls from softball playing this?" Paine asked, sounding bored, without realizing she was speaking into the mic.

Yuna tapped her chin, trying to remember what Rikku told her. "Some girl named Olette wants to gain a spot on the boys' baseball team," she answered into her own microphone.

Paine scoffed into the mic, "Why doesn't she just join the school's softball team? They're the same thing."

Olette's scream of frustration was heard echoing throughout the entire lot, maybe even the entire town. For a split millisecond everything went quiet. Had the crowd not resumed cheering and chanting, Olette would have taken a good portion of the peoples' time to explain how baseball and softball were not the same. Kairi and Yuffie clung to the brunette's arms, trying to keep her from lunging at an innocent bystander.

Selphie stared at the enraged green-eyed brunette like she was insane. "You and Roxas go _perfectly_ together."

Surprisingly enough, rather than angering Olette even more, the comment turned her face pink and caused her to quiet down and stop thrashing.

"There are just a mere two innings left, folks!" Yuna broadcasted into her microphone. Her tone of voice was excited, even cheery, in comparison to Paine's. "The girls only have a little bit of time left to make up for their lack of points."

"I also hear they're missing one player," Paine yawned into her mic, propping her elbow on the foldable table and resting her head in her hand. "Naminé… something."

"What happened?" Yuna gasped, forgetting that they were supposed to be announcing. In a way, they still were. Their more private conversations were being publicized to the crowd over their microphones, like the one they were currently having. "Did she run away?"

Paine shook her head. "No, she got arrested or something."

"Her parents took her back home!" Olette shouted from her dugout, trying to correct them as politely as possible. How did people find out about these sorts of things so quickly?

"Olette?" Fuu questioned from behind her.

Olette turned around to see that the rest of her teammates were watching her worriedly, still waiting for an explanation on Naminé's absence. The brunette sighed loudly, tired from the events of the day. She took off the cap and fanned her face with it.

"Did I ever mention Naminé ran away from home?"

"What?" all the girls on the team gasped, some vividly shocked while others were just confused.

"She lives _way_ on the other side of Twilight Town, where I used to live," Olette explained. She looked up to finally lock eyes with the girls. "She ran away from home to convince me to run away to the Destiny Islands with her. Instead she stayed with me to help me win this game."

"She ran away from home?" Rikku repeated, scratching her head in bewilderment.

Olette smiled anxiously at the girls. "She was kind of living under my bed…"

"So," Selphie cut in. "What happened to her?"

"Her parents went looking for her," said Olette. "They came to my house, unfortunately, and that was when we blew our cover." She paused for a moment, trying to control her cracking voice. "They took her back home. She's probably gone by now."

"Wow," Larxene breathed. She looked away, her eyes trailing up towards the sky. There was a look of unamused surprise on her face. "She's really not coming back."

Olette shook her head slowly, her brown swirled tresses falling over her shoulders. The girls exchanged glances, communicating with each other through silent stares. Tifa looked back at Olette, holding up the jersey she saved for Naminé.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.

"Keep it here," Kairi suggested with a forced smile. She was trying anything by now to cheer Olette up. "That way it's like Naminé is here. Sort of."

"But she's never even worn the jersey," Selphie sighed irritatingly.

"Never," Fuu echoed.

Kairi frowned at Selphie. "I'm _trying_ to help here."

"It's settled then," Larxene said as she swiped the jersey out of Tifa's hands. She ambled over to the metallic bench and placed it down in a bunched up pile. She turned back to the girls with a grin. "We keep the jersey here to preserve Blondie's memory."

"You make it sound like she's dead," Yuffie gagged with a cringe. Larxene only shrugged.

"Now without further ado!" Yuna exclaimed over the microphone. The girls looked up and waited for their cue to come out. As if things weren't bad enough, Olette could feel her nerves mounting to the point of explosion. "Let's get this game started! First to bat, number eleven: Kairi!"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x -

_**A/N – Ew, yucky! A filler chapter! And what's this? No roxette fluffiness? Shame on me! The only reason I have a filler chapter is because I want to keep this story going as long as I can. I'm trying to get it into the twenties, chapter wise. -sniff- I can't believe the end is almost near. Not too close, but you can tell it's coming, ya know? Just writing to apologize for this awful filler of a chapter. I LACK INSPIRATION! But the game WILL start up in the next chapter. PROMISE! -slams head on keyboard repeatedly- I guess some fillers are necessary, hm? Okay, maybe not. But I will try to hurry for you guys! My teachers, though, they're all, "Ooh! Let's shove a bunch of final projects on you kids so you don't get any time to do the stuff you like! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Stupid year-round school! DIE! …Ha, sorry. I'm not in a bad mood. I'm just high off of Coca Cola. Also, it took me so long to write this chapter because I'm rewriting my other KH fic titled Roxette. I'm pretty sure most of you have read it. Well, I hate it. So I'm going back and revising it. And when it's all finished and shiny and whatnot, I'm deleting the old chapters and posting the new ones. So it might actually take me longer to update this story… BUT I'LL TRY SO PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N – -grins maniacally- Almost two hundred reviews. All right. Whelp, school has started back up again (remember, year-round school equals not very long summer vacation) and strangely enough, that was what gave me the inspiration to start writing again. That and the fact that I'm happy for two reasons. Reason number one being that I FINALLY got my Roxas plushie doll! Yay! And reason number two being that I saw the last episode of Avatar: The Last Avatar. Actually, that one makes me sad. That means that it's completely over and no new episodes! NO! I liked that cartoon! Heh, I better start before I start rambling…**_

- x – x – x – x -

The crowd cheered loudly at the mention of Kairi's name. The girls all spun around at once when the cheering erupted into the air. The crowd wasn't an extravagant size, but it was big enough to cheer loudly enough to hurt Olette's ears. Over at the announcers' table sat Yuna, all smiles. Sitting next to her was Paine, yawning profusely. Kairi lost some color in her face when she studied the size of the crowd more closely. She swiftly turned back to Olette, the music blaring loudly in her ears and a look of sudden panic written all over her face.

"I have to start out in front of _that_ crowd?" the redhead gasped, her voice cracking.

Olette couldn't help but frown. "Inviting people to watch was your idea to begin with."

Kairi read the brunette's lips, and frowned at the comment. "No," she corrected. "It was Yuffie and Selphie's idea!"

"Guilty as charged," Selphie sighed with a smirk on her face as she and Yuffie raised their guilty hands in the air.

"Come on, girls," Larxene coached, placing a comforting hand on Kairi's shoulder. "Are you going to let a little stage fright get to you?"

Kairi immediately shook her head no, refusing to be frightened. With a look of determination, she grabbed the nearest bat and marched out of the dugout like a robot. The crowd exploded into even more applause when they noticed the redhead finally making her appearance. Even from the dugout, Olette could make out the nervous perspiration forming around Kairi's forehead.

"And here comes number eleven: Kairi!" Yuna exclaimed into the microphone, simply beaming.

"She is first up to bat for the girls," Paine added in, not as excitedly as her friend.

Kairi approached the home plate and stood in front of Pence. She got into her batting position only after choosing a song to her liking on her iPod. Doing so seemed to have calmed her nerves a bit, and she faced the boys' pitcher with less anxiety. She held the bat above her shoulder as several people in the crowd kept cheering.

"Yeah! Go Kairi!" Aerith shouted from her spot in the bleachers. "Show those boys how it's done!"

Kairi smiled proudly to her self, but in a split millisecond it was gone. Pence held up his catcher's glove as Roxas got into his pitching stance. Arching back, he brought his throwing arm back and lifted his leg up for more power. In one quick movement the blond pitcher threw his curveball forward, his arm nothing more than a blur. The redhead at home plate stepped back and propped her bat on her shoulder, allowing the ball to fly right by her.

As the baseball landed in Pence's glove, he announced, "Ball one!"

Some girls in the dugout cheered momentarily. Roxas ran his hand through his hair, sighing heavily. He caught the baseball once it was thrown back at him. The crowd kept going at it, whistling and cheering. Kairi stepped back on the plate with her bat ready for swinging. A sudden breeze passed over the lot, sending goose bumps up and down Olette's arms. The air smelled fresh, almost like rain. Peeved, the brunette looked up at the sky and hoped there weren't any signs of rain clouds. But she couldn't help but notice the few gray clouds headed their way. However, they weren't the dark gray clouds of a full on rainstorm. If anything, they were just drizzle clouds. She sighed out of relief and returned her attention to the game. She didn't mind playing in drizzle, if it came to that.

By the time Olette looked back out at the field, Roxas had already thrown the baseball. It flew at Kairi at top speed. With one powerful swing, she brought the bat forward and hit the ball as hard as she could. With a loud crack the baseball went flying over the heads of everyone in the infield. Seifer, Rai, and Wakka all ran around the outfield with their arms outstretched in the air. Instead of one of them catching it, Rai and Wakka ran into each other and collapsed to the grass. This allowed the ball to hit the ground and continue rolling its way into the centerfield. The two groaned in pain from where they laid in the grass.

"You idiots! Get up!" Seifer shouted angrily as he chased after the baseball.

While this was going down, Kairi tossed her baseball bat aside and dashed over towards the first base. The crowd was going wild, and the girls in the dugout were screaming along with them. Yuna was jumping up and down at the table, squealing into the mic. Paine was dazing off into space, trying to get herself to sleep. Finally, Seifer caught up to the baseball. He plucked it off the ground and chucked it in Hayner's general direction. He stood right in front of the first plate with his arm stretched out towards the oncoming ball. This was a mistake on his part, though, because this meant that he was directly blocking Kairi's way to the base. Acting on instinct, Kairi tried to skid to a halt. She continued sliding through the dirt towards Hayner. Before anyone else knew, she had collided into him and the two went down before the ball was anywhere near Hayner.

There was a painful sounding crash and a lot of screaming. A notable "Ooh!" passed through the audience like a contagious yawn. Even Yuna winced and oohed into her mic. Paine was now finally paying attention to the action going on in the field. Olette tried to see past the cloud of dust that formed around first base to see if Kairi was all right. A silence fell over the whole lot as everyone waited for the next turn of events. After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the dust finally cleared up and everyone was able to get a good view of Hayner and Kairi.

Hayner was lying flat on his back, more than likely unconscious from having the wind knocked out of him. Kairi sat directly on top of him, sitting uncomfortably on his stomach. She shook her head to rid herself of any dizziness. Hayner groaned from underneath her, sounding like he was in excruciating pain. Several of the boys in the field laughed to themselves. Even Roxas was having a hard time controlling his laughter. Sora had no problem chortling away at Hayner's misery. The laughing stopped when Kairi looked down at her iPod.

The redhead gasped in pure horror. The girls in the dugout added their own horrified gasp to Kairi's. At first, Olette was slightly confused as to what everyone was gasping about. And then she noticed it. There in Kairi's hand was her once beloved iPod, now nothing more than broken plastic and metal. The screen of the music player was completely cracked. The whole thing had been broken in half, and then broken into smaller pieces. The iPod's insides were now showing on the outside. It's pink outer color was now scraped off and showing its silver underside. Static played out of Kairi's headphones. And then nothing. Silence.

"Uh oh…" Riku breathed from his spot at second base.

Kairi's bottom lip quivered. Tears pricked at her lavender eyes. She clenched her fingers around the remains of her iPod. Olette was surprised the poor redhead wasn't making any whimpering noises by now. Suddenly, Kairi threw back her head and screamed to the heavens with a tone of agonized horror, "NOOO!"

"Folks, this can't be good," Yuna said into her mic. Though, Olette couldn't help but notice the hint of delight in her voice.

Hayner sat up, groaning. He held his forehead with his hand and tried to regain his thoughts. What he failed to notice was the dark scowl of death Kairi was directing at him. Finally noticing a hostile aura floating around the first base, he looked up and locked eyes with Kairi. Hayner instantly turned pale and flashed a forced smile for her. Kairi's once lavender eyes now burned red with anger. Hayner's eyes quickly flickered down to the destroyed iPod in her hand before returning back to make eye contact with her. It was right then and there that he knew he was a dead man.

"Uh… oops."

"YOU KILLED MY IPOD!"

The crowd gasped when Kairi lunged at Hayner and tackled him back down to the dirt. She grabbed him by the neck and began coiling her fingers tightly around his neck. As she did so she shouted ferociously, her face turning completely red. Hayner's face, on the other hand, turned blue from the fact that he was being suffocated to death. He grabbed Kairi's arms with his own hands and tried to pry her off him, but she was slowly choking away all his strength and was unable to remove her. She even began to shake his head back and forth, making the experience that more painful for him. The boys ran from their spots in the field and formed a circle around Hayner and Kairi. Instead of trying to help out their fellow teammate, some stood back and watched in terror while a few of the boys began chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" over and over again. Though, it could hardly be considered a real fight seeing as how Kairi was dominating Hayner.

Horrified by Kairi's sudden outburst, the girls rushed out of their own dugout and hurried over to the circle the boys had formed. They all knew it was uncommon for Kairi to act this way. She was usually very level headed and calm about things. But this. This was a brand new side of Kairi none of the girls had ever seen before. Olette muttered something to herself as she slapped her forehead. At this rate, they were never going to get through the game. She reluctantly ran out of the girls' dugout and made her way over to the circle.

"Things are getting juicy now, folks!" Paine snickered into her mic, finally interested about the game.

"You broke it! You broke my iPod!" Kairi shrieked, still showing Hayner no mercy. The girls surrounded her with the boys, but were too frightened to really do anything to save Hayner.

Olette approached the circle, but slowed down to a halt. The boys were still encouraging a fight. She just had to roll her eyes at this. What was with the boys and violence? Though, Olette shouldn't have been talking. She and her girls also seemed to have a tendency to become violent…

A hand reached out of the circle and grabbed Olette's own hand. She yelped loudly when the hand yanked her forward into the circle. As soon as she shoved her way through the people, she looked up to see it was Roxas who pulled her in. Before she had a chance to contemplate the fact that he was holding her hand in front of everyone else, Roxas glanced down at her with too much seriousness in his expression.

"Olette!" he said over the screaming and chanting of the others. "You have to do something about your teammate! She's going to _kill_ him!" The blond pointed down at Kairi. And indeed, it looked like Hayner was just centimeters away from death.

Alarmed, Olette took a daring step towards the frenzied redhead. "Kairi! Let him go!" she demanded, trying to make her voice as commanding as possible. That was rather difficult because Kairi scared Olette beyond belief at that moment. "He needs to breathe!"

Kairi simply ignored Olette's orders and went on with strangling Hayner.

"You murdered my iPod!" she screamed as she began to vigorously shake Hayner back and forth much more quickly than before. "You brutally murdered my iPod!"

By now, the poor boy was slowly losing his will to fight on. As hard as Hayner tried, he just couldn't force the deranged girl off him. As Kairi went on screaming, Hayner was begging for help. Unfortunately for him, his friends were too busy chanting for a fight to help him. Discouraged, Olette turned back to face Roxas. The seriousness had left his face, only to be replaced with obvious disturbance as he continued watching the redhead throttle his friend. Roxas' eyes trailed over to Olette's. When they locked a stare together, she couldn't help but force an innocent smile for him.

"Olette, you have violent friends," Roxas told her over Kairi's screaming and Hayner's pleading.

Olette turned her back to her boyfriend with a disheartened smile. She glimpsed up at the sky and sighed heavily. "Naminé, where are you when I need you?" she whispered.

- x – x – x – x -

"Yummy yummy in my tummy!" Naminé sang as she continued skipping down the sidewalk. In her hand was a slowly melting ice cream bar. She licked at it happily, savoring the sweet and salty flavor of it. "Sea Salt Ice Cream is the best!"

The blonde came to a stop so that she could enjoy her ice cream. While she enjoyed the treat she was having, she couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something. Naminé looked around and noticed a park nearby. Sitting on the sidewalk near that park was a bench. She bounced over to the bench and sat herself down. The blonde went back to licking her ice cream. She could hear the sounds of kids playing around on the park jungle gym behind her. There were the sounds of birds, parents yelling at their kids, and older teenagers playing around with what had to be a football as well. Naminé swung her legs back and forth as she hummed to herself and ate away at her ice cream. When a breeze passed over her, she looked up to see lightly gray clouds in the sky.

Naminé scowled. "Great. It's going to rain."

"Heads up!" a voice suddenly warned from behind her.

Before she had the chance, Naminé was struck hard in the back of the head with what was most likely the football she saw the teenagers playing with. Without so much as a yelp, Naminé collapsed on the park bench for a mere moment before regaining her senses. She sat up, groaning and rubbing her blonde head. Well, at least she finished her ice cream. That is, it was knocked out of her hand and landed on the sidewalk, which meant that was the end of her ice cream eating. Irritated, Naminé looked over her shoulder with the brown football in her hands.

Two figures were headed towards her, looking rather apologetic. The taller one was strangely tan with clashing gray-white hair reaching past his shoulders. The shorter one had gray hair, almost a light black. His bangs veiled over his right eye and he was lanky and paler in comparison to the other man. The two looked older than her, maybe nineteen or even twenty. At least that was what Naminé could tell from her distance. The two came to a stop near the bench, stopping to catch their breath.

"Sorry about that," Zexion apologized.

"Didn't mean to use your head for target practice," Xemnas chuckled as he straightened up.

Naminé frowned and tossed the football back to Zexion. "No problem."

He caught the ball as it slightly fumbled in his hands. Naminé turned around to stare at her ice cream on the sidewalk, crestfallen. Zexion and Xemnas glanced at each other. Xemnas elbowed his friend in the ribs, making Zexion grunt. Frowning, he looked back over at Naminé and cleared his throat.

"So," Zexion began. Naminé couldn't help but sigh loudly. "Are you alone?"

The blonde swiftly turned around in the bench and faced the two males with a strong scowl. "Listen, buddy," she snapped. "Don't get any ideas! Just because I'm alone doesn't mean you can come around hitting on me!"

Xemnas broke out into strident laughter upon hearing this. He even knelt over from laughing so hard. He had his arms wrapped around him, holding his sides in fear that they would split open. Naminé's expression quickly changed to confusion. Still looking serious, Zexion held up his hands defensively and shook his head.

"That wasn't… really what I meant," he clarified as his more tanned friend continued laughing his head off.

Almost instantly, Naminé reverted back to her warm smile. "Oh!"

"We just thought you looked bored," Zexion continued. He glared over at Xemnas, who was still guffawing away. When he didn't stop, Zexion chucked the ball right at his head. Xemnas grunted and fell to the ground. Sighing, Zexion returned his attention to Naminé. "So, we were wondering if you wanted to play some football with us."

Naminé continued staring down at Xemnas, who actually seemed knocked out. _How hard did he throw the ball?_

"No thanks," she replied politely. "Baseball is more my thing."

"You like baseball?" Zexion asked, suddenly grinning. He was now leaning over the bench, leaning against it for support.

"So does that mean you play softball?" Xemnas inquired, suddenly popping up behind the bench. Naminé squeaked and jumped where she sat.

_He sure did recover fast…_

The blonde's brain finally processed what Xemnas had just asked. She looked back up at him with a frown. He looked taken aback by her reaction.

"No, I play baseball," she corrected haughtily. "Hence why I like it so much." She stuck her nose in the air to emphasize her argument.

Zexion smiled in amusement. "I didn't know there were teams that allowed girls to play."

Naminé redirected her attitude from Xemnas to Zexion. He was now the one dealing with her frown. Forcing a smile, he once again held up his hands defensively. He was so sure by now that Naminé was in fact bipolar.

"Not that that's weird," Zexion chuckled nervously while Naminé hitched an eyebrow. "Because girls can _totally_ play baseball!"

"Thank you!" Naminé's nose was stuck in the air once more.

"Are you any good?" Xemnas asked casually as he tossed the football back and forth in his hands.

The smile flashed onto Naminé's ivory toned face again. She looked back up at him and gloated, "I'm the best shortstop you'll ever meet."

"Cool," Zexion cut in. Naminé glanced back at him curiously. "You're the shortstop position?"

"Yep!" Naminé gave a quick nod of her head, grinning from ear to ear.

The bench suddenly fell quiet. Xemnas and Zexion stared curiously at Naminé as she continued to grin into the void. If they didn't know any better, it looked like realization was starting to sink in for her. But what kind of realization? Naminé had finally remembered what it was she was supposed to be doing. This whole conversation stirred her brain into functioning properly again. Without any warning, Naminé sprang to her feet so quickly that she caused both Xemnas and Zexion to jump back in surprise.

"Oh, no!" she yelled fretfully as she dashed down the sidewalk. "I'm gonna be late! Thanks for the company!" Naminé waved good-bye over her shoulder to the other two.

Zexion and Xemnas slowly stared at each other after watching Naminé's retreating figure. After a moment of silence, they both shrugged their shoulders simultaneously. This was why neither of them were into sporty girls.

- x – x – x – x -

Olette currently remained in the girls' dugout, ready to blow her brains out. One would think she would be excited because it was nearing the end of the game. However, Olette was anything but excited. They weren't even five minutes into the eighth inning, and already several of the players had sustained minor injuries. Okay, so the injuries weren't exactly minor. And the injured players happened to be the boys on the other team. So far Kairi had strangled Hayner halfway to death, Tifa hit Seifer as hard as she could with her baseball bat, Selphie had a rather verbal (and physical) throw down with Tidus, and even Fuu took a swing at Riku when he claimed she was tagged out. Sitting next to Olette was a very upset Fuu. At least, she thought the quiet girl was upset. It was hard to tell. As it turned out, she _was_ tagged out. And it didn't help much that she punched Riku right in the gut.

"Well, folks!" Yuna exclaimed into the mic. She actually sounded excited about all the violence that was taking place in the lot. "I can honestly say this has turned out to be a very interesting game!"

"It still wasn't worth the money," Paine sighed as she poked at the tabletop.

"The bases are loaded," Yuna went on, ignoring Paine's lack of enthusiasm. "Number eleven, Kairi is at third base. Number twenty-five, Tifa is standing at second base. And number thirty, Selphie just recently got onto the first plate. If the boys can work together, they might be able to tag one of the girls out!"

"Or," Paine cut in, still sounding bored, "if the girls can pull themselves together and stop trying to kill the boys they might actually get a point."

Olette groaned and rubbed her forehead. Why wouldn't the crowd shut up and stop cheering? They were only making her headache worse. She loved her girls; she really did. But they were aggravating her to no end. Paine was right: The girls were off on a tangent and kept sidetracking from the game. If any more violence broke out, all of the boys might have to sit out. And then there would be no game to play! Olette grabbed the closest bat and marched up to Larxene. The older blond glanced up from where she was sitting on the metallic bench and stared back at Olette. The brunette held out the bat, her eyes closed and sighing.

"Save us, Larxene," Olette murmured irritatingly. "Just please, save us."

Larxene gladly took the bat from the girls' captain and casually made her way up to the home plate. The sight of Larxene approaching only caused the audience to applaud even louder. For a moment, Olette thought she heard someone let out a short scream of bloody murder. She also thought it sounded like Axel.

Roxas peered out into the crowd when Larxene sauntered up to the home plate. And sure enough, Axel was trying to make a quick and desperate getaway. The only thing stopping him was his four poker buddies holding him down and cackling at the fire-haired man's misery.

"Next to bat is number fourteen: Larxene!" Yuna introduced. There was yet another terrified scream from the audience. That scream was soon drowned out by the sudden cheering.

Smirking, Larxene held up her bat and got into her stance. The boys in the field stiffened, and some even gulped. Roxas inhaled deeply as he stared down the batter. He brought his arm back and waited for a second before swinging his arm forward and releasing the baseball. It zipped through the air, the wind hissing past it. Larxene brought her bat forward with a powerful swing. The amount of strength she used caused a loud crack when the bat hit the ball. The crowd erupted into loud cheering and screaming when the ball flew high over the heads of the boys in the infield, along with lots of whistling and clapping. With an expression of determination on her face, Larxene threw her bat to the side and hurried to the first plate while leaving a trail of dust behind her.

Kairi took off from third, easily making it to home plate. Right behind her was Tifa, rounding third. The crowd only grew louder when Tifa stepped onto home plate. Seifer was lunging at the baseball over in centerfield with the boys shouting orders at him from the infield. Selphie hurried past Riku on second and went on towards the third base with Larxene right on her tail. The crowd was going wild, along with Yuna at the announcers' table and the girls in the dugout. Seifer grabbed the ball with his gloved hand and threw it over towards Riku. The silver-haired boy caught the ball and tried to tag Larxene out. But by the time Riku got the baseball in his glove, Larxene had already run past him. The cheering grew louder when Selphie stepped on the home plate. Riku had thrown the ball over at Pence over at the home plate, but Selphie was safe. Larxene stopped at third to catch her breath.

"With one swing, number fourteen Larxene was able to earn the girls' team three points!" Yuna exclaimed into her mic, standing up. "The girls are now tied with the boys, nineteen to nineteen!"

"In one swing!" Sora shouted furiously from his position at shortstop. Olette looked over at him with a smirk. The brunet had grabbed handfuls of his spiky hair. "In one swing! How did she do it?"

Kairi, Tifa, and Selphie returned to the dugout triumphantly. All three were beaming proudly. The girls surrounded them to give them words of congratulations and pats on the back. Smiling, Tifa held up her hands and said, "The person you should be thanking is Larxene."

"That girl has one crazy swing!" Yuffie exclaimed, all hyped up from adrenaline.

Kairi pointed suddenly at Olette, grinning. "Your turn, Captain."

Before Olette had a chance to protest, Tifa shoved a baseball bat into her hands and Kairi and Yuffie dragged her towards the exit of the dugout. With a forceful shove, the two compelled Olette into being the next batter up. The cheer of the crowd rang in her ears as she hurried over to the home plate. There was whistling and encouraging words coming from behind her. She quickly glanced over the field to see the boys getting back into position before looking at Roxas.

"Next to bat is the captain of the girls' team, number seventeen: Olette," introduced Yuna, now sitting back down in her seat.

"Any particular reason why she's wearing one of the boy's baseball cap?" Paine asked, monotone, into her mic, only to make small talk with Yuna again.

"Word in school is," her friend replied giddily, "Olette is going out with Roxas, which would mean he gave her that hat."

Paine gazed over at Yuna. "The pitcher?"

The boys out on the field either laughed or snickered at the mention of this. Roxas closed his eyes shut with a frown, trying to contain his annoyance. He found this rather difficult with every single one of his friends laughing at him. And he could have sworn he heard Axel somewhere in the crowd giggling like a schoolgirl. Olette scowled, but quickly smiled to herself when she saw the tint of red rushing to Roxas' cheeks. But her irritation quickly returned back to her.

"Way to announce that to the entire crowd, Yuna," Olette muttered through clenched teeth.

She held up her bat and tried to concentrate back on the game. Roxas seemed to be doing the same thing as he got into his pitching position. He was about to throw the ball, but was interrupted when Sora called out from his spot at shortstop, "Just because she's your girlfriend doesn't mean you should go easy on her!"

This provoked the boys into laughing even that much more. Once again, Roxas' face burned bright red. Olette quickly sent Sora a glare, but returned her attention to Roxas when she saw him chuck the ball at her. The baseball came flying at her fast. She was almost surprised by how much more strength Roxas used on her. Nevertheless, she waited for the exact right moment before swinging her bat forward. The ball went flying back. Olette took off, throwing the bat to the side as she did so. Roxas reached his gloved hand up, but the ball went flying past him.

With incredible speed, Larxene sped away from the third base and hurried over to home. Riku reached down and grabbed the baseball that came rolling towards him. He now had the choice to either throw the ball at Hayner over at first and get Olette out, or throw the ball at Pence and have Larxene tagged out. The silver-haired second baseman brought his arm back and swung it forward. The baseball went hurtling in Pence's direction. Larxene saw the ball headed towards home plate out of the peripheral of her vision. She stuck her right foot out and went sliding through the dirt. The crowd cheered loudly in anticipation as the blonde slid towards home and Pence held out his glove for the ball. Olette was already standing on the first base, so she directed her attention to home. The baseball flew back over Roxas' head and soared towards Pence. But by the time it landed in his glove, Larxene had already slid onto the home plate.

The girls in the dugout broke out into another victorious cheer. The crowd in the bleachers roared in excitement, and Yuna was now announcing the girls were ahead of the boys by one point. Olette quickly glanced over at Sora to see he was upset by the point that had been earned. The rest of the boys out on the field didn't look happy either. It had taken a while, but the girls were finally ahead of the boys.

"It's twenty to nineteen with the girls in the lead!" Yuna spoke into her mic for the crowd to hear. "The girls have one out, and the boys need to get two more girls out in order to get up to bat."

Yuffie appeared suddenly at the home plate with a bat in her hands. She got into her stance with a confident smile making its way onto her face. Roxas regained the ball from Pence. For a moment, he stared down Yuffie. The blond arched his back with his arm held behind his head. Olette prepared herself to make a run for it once Yuffie hit the baseball. Roxas threw the ball forward and let it slip out of his hand. Yuffie swung her baseball bat forward, but instead of hitting the baseball she missed it completely. It zipped past her and flew into Pence's glove.

"Strike one!" the catcher announced. He threw the ball back at Roxas, and he caught it in his gloved hand.

The audience behind Yuffie cheered loudly, encouraging her to make a hit. She rearranged her feet and perfected her batting stance. Yuffie held the bat tightly in her hands as it hovered just above her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes and concentrated completely on the ball in Roxas' hand. Over at first base, Olette was also preparing herself. She had a feeling that this time, Yuffie was going to hit the baseball. And as soon as Roxas let go of the ball, she was going to try and steal second base. She had one foot on the base and the other stretched out ahead of her to make a run for it.

Roxas noticed Olette getting ready to steal second base. It was either throw his fastball at Yuffie, or strike Olette out. In the end, Roxas decided to just throw the baseball at Yuffie. He knew, though, that when Sora would find out about this, he was going to have his head screamed off. Sighing, Roxas returned his attention to Yuffie and chucked a fastball at her. Olette took off once the ball left the pitcher's hand. The crowd roared with excitement as Yuffie took a swing at the baseball. She hit it with enough force to send it flying into the leftfield. Yuffie ran like the wind towards the first plate. Because she stole the base, Olette was already standing on second. Just when she was about to make a run for it towards third, she saw Wakka grab the ball off the ground. He threw it at Sora, who caught the ball perfectly. The shortstop hurled the ball at first base. Olette turned to see Yuffie hadn't even made it to first yet. Hayner held out his glove as the girl continued towards the first base. He caught the ball when Yuffie was just centimeters away from the base. Hayner quickly turned and tagged Yuffie out. Angered, the ebony-haired girl stomped all the way back to the dugout to join the crestfallen girls.

"The girls now have two outs," Yuna said into her mic. "One more and the boys will be up to bat."

- x – x – x – x -

_Gotta make it to the field! Gotta make it to the field! GOTTA MAKE IT TO THE FIELD!_

Naminé chanted the same sentence over and over again in the depths of her mind. Lest she stop reminding herself, she might get herself distracted once more. Her legs ached as she hurried off in the direction of the lot, running at top speed. Her reckless running almost cost the blonde her life several times. She almost crashed into a family of four, ran into a fruit stand, tripped into a water fountain, and almost tripped over a huge dog. She wheezed for breath, her lungs burning painfully, but refused to stop running. Naminé turned the curb at the end of the block.

And that's when she saw it.

Naminé would have continued running, but the sight made her skid to a sudden halt. Across the street was a little boy. He looked no older than six, maybe seven years old. His hair was white, almost silver, and oddly enough it was long for a little kid his age. He stood underneath a tree, sniffling and wiping his nose with the back of his hand. His nose was red, and his eyes were still glinting with tears. The very sight broke Naminé's heart. Concerned for the little boy, she dashed across the street and approached him.

Naminé came to a stop in front of the boy. She knelt down to his height and placed the palms of her hands on her knees. She smiled sweetly down at the boy as he glanced up at her curiously. "What's wrong, little boy? Are you okay?"

Sephiroth, in all his childish glory, sniveled again and wiped his nose. His face contorted into a saddened expression, and it looked like he was on the verge of crying once more. Sniffling, he pointed up at the tree and answered in a choppy voice, "M-my cat g-got stuck in the t-tree." Sephiroth hiccupped, but kept his tiny index finger pointed up at the tree.

"You gotta be kidding me," Naminé responded dryly, the concern wiped away from her face. She stared down at Sephiroth like he was joking. The little boy only sniffled and hiccupped as a reply.

Naminé looked up at where Sephiroth was pointing. And sure enough, there was a black and white cat hiding itself among the leaves of the tree. It sat comfortably on a branch, one of its legs dangling in the air. It meowed softly, as if trying to tell Naminé she shouldn't even bother climbing up and getting it down. Sephiroth craned his neck up and stared worriedly up at his cat.

"Don't worry Miss Fluffybutt! I'll get you down!" he called up to the cat. The feline simply yawned and buried its head into its paws.

Naminé glanced down at the boy strangely. "Your cat is named _what_?"

"Please!" Sephiroth begged as his eyes flickered to the blonde fifteen-year-old. "You gotta get my kitty down! Please help me!"

Naminé sighed and ran her hand through her blonde locks. The look the kid was giving her only made it much more difficult to refuse. She really had to get to the lot, but she just couldn't leave the little boy there to cry. She made up her mind and marched over to the tree. Sephiroth's face lit up when he saw she was going to help him out. Naminé began scaling the tree, slowly making her way up towards the cat. The feline meowed again. The blonde reached one hand up towards the cat. She almost slipped, but quickly grabbed on to a branch to stop her fall short. The cat meowed again, as if mocking Naminé's futile attempt. Naminé glowered up at the cat with narrowed sapphire eyes and clenched teeth.

"This is _so_ not worth my time."

"Thank you, kind lady!" Sephiroth chirped cheerfully from somewhere below Naminé. The girl groaned, and suddenly all her annoyance disappeared just like that.

- x – x – x – x -

The crowd cheered loudly as Fuu took a swing at the baseball Roxas flung at her. Instead of bunting like she usually did, the quiet girl decided now was the time to take a swing at it. Olette took off from her spot at second base with Fuu running towards first base. Rai went chasing after the baseball as it flew over into right field. Olette rounded third and continued towards home. The girls cheered for both her and Fuu to keep going. Fuu stepped onto second base and stopped there when Rai finally picked up the ball. Olette stepped onto the home plate and skidded past it, with the girls applauding loudly from the dugout. She ran back to the dugout with victory obvious all over her face. Roxas plucked the ball out of the air when Rai threw it back at him.

"The girls are still ahead with nineteen to twenty-one," Paine said calmly into her mic. She still looked as bored as ever.

As soon as Olette stepped foot into the dugout, Rikku bounced up to her with a huge smile. "Can I go, Captain?" the blonde chimed. "Can I, can I, can I?"

The other girls in the dugout all turned and looked intensely at Olette. That was their way of telling her to let Rikku know she wasn't allowed to go bat. They were on a roll now, and the last thing they needed was for Rikku to strike out. They already had two outs, and the blonde was more than likely to be the third out. However, Olette had noticed that Rikku was getting better at baseball over the past few weeks. While she wasn't perfect, she was certainly better than she was to begin with. Olette ignored the stares the other girls were giving her. She smiled down at Rikku and slowly nodded her head.

Rikku squealed and leapt into the air. She quickly grabbed a baseball bat out of the corner of the dugout and skipped her merry way over to the home plate. Olette slowly turned around to see the other girls now glaring at her. She had to force herself not to recoil back in alarm. Olette flashed them all an innocent grin. The girls only narrowed their eyes even more.

"Do you _want_ us to lose, Olette?" Yuffie snapped, throwing her arms into the air and raising her voice. Olette jumped back in surprise.

"We only have one more out to go," Kairi butted in, now musicless. "And Rikku has a higher chance of striking out than any of us do."

"Come on, guys," Larxene chuckled from her spot on the bench. All the girls directed their attention to her. She was leaning back casually against the wiring of the dugout with her head hanging and her eyes closed. The older blonde looked up and gave the girls a small, lopsided grin. "Personally, I think Rikku has gotten better. At least give her a chance."

Olette nodded her head. "I agree. The least we could do is let her try."

Over at the home plate, Rikku was getting into the best batting stance she could pull off. Some of the guys out on the field snickered to themselves, but made sure none of the girls could hear them. The guys in the outfield pulled in closer, so as to make an easy out when Rikku swung.

"Next to bat is number twenty-three: Rikku! Go, Rikku! Woohoo! You can do it!" Yuna cheered for her friend into the mic as she pumped her fists into the air. Paine directed an unenthusiastic wave towards her friend at home plate.

Rikku straightened up suddenly with a toothy smile plastered all over her face. Her bat dropped to the side and thudded against the ground. She held her arm up as high as she could stretch it and waved zealously for her friends to see. Just as she did so, Roxas threw the ball at her. Still distracted, Rikku didn't notice the ball coming and it flew right past her into the glove of Pence. She blinked when the air rushed past her, whistling as it did so.

"Strike one!" Pence threw the ball past Rikku towards Roxas.

"I missed?" Rikku asked herself, placing her index finger on her lips and tilting her head to one side in a confused state.

"Pay ATTENTION!" Selphie shrieked from the dugout as she jumped into the air and clung to the wiring of the fence like a crazed monkey. Everyone who was standing close to her inched away in fright.

"Come on, Rikku!" Paine encouraged into her mic. "Pay attention! I know you can do it!"

Rikku nodded her head determinedly and faced forward towards Roxas. She rearranged her feet and crouched back down into her batting position. She held the bat back up, ready to swing away. Roxas spun his arm around in a full circle to relax his muscles. He brought his hands to his face and held his throwing hand in his gloved one. He stepped back and brought his arm back. He flung the ball forward and sent a curveball right at Rikku. The blonde timed everything perfectly and waited for the exact moment to swing. The cheer of the girls, the crowd, and her friends at the announcers' table filled her ears as she brought her bat forward and made powerful contact with the ball. The girls in the dugout watched in awe as the ball soared into the air high above the boys' heads. Even the guys in the field stared up at the ball with their jaws hanging wide open for a moment before Rikku dashed off towards Hayner over at first.

When Seifer finally snapped out of his momentary trance, he chased after the ball with his gloved hand stretched out above his head. Fuu finally made a run for it with Rikku close on her tail. The blonde had just rounded first, and Fuu was hurrying towards third. Olette and half of the girls in the dugout gasped suddenly, though, when they noticed Seifer stopping directly under the ball. He held his gloved hand out in the air and waited for the baseball. Just as Fuu rounded third and Rikku stepped onto second, the centerfielder caught the ball. The baseball fell out of the sky and landed perfectly in Seifer's glove. The girls instantly fell silent and Rikku slid to a stop. She stared briefly at Seifer with widened and confused eyes. The crowd on the bleachers "awwed" as Rikku headed back to the dugout solemnly, her head hung in shame. The boys cheered, finally getting the third and final out they need to get up to bat.

Rikku entered the dugout right behind Fuu, still hanging her head. Reluctantly, she looked up to see just how mad the other girls were. To her surprise, she glanced at the girls and saw them all smiling at her. Yuffie sprang up to Rikku and gave her a congratulatory pat on the back. Rikku stumbled forward, the baffled surprise vivid on her face.

"That was some swing, Rikku!" Yuffie complimented with a proud grin on her face. Rikku's face instantly lit up at the encouragement she was receiving.

"You really have gotten a lot better," Larxene added from where she sat on the bleacher.

Rikku dug the tip of her foot into the sand, her eyes now downcast in embarrassment. "So, you guys aren't mad that I struck out?"

"Struck out?" Olette laughed. She appeared by Rikku's side and placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You didn't strike out. Seifer just got lucky and caught the ball. I, personally, think that was a pretty amazing hit." Olette beamed down at Rikku, hoping to make the saddened blonde feel better.

Rikku broke out into another smile, happy that none of the girls were currently mangling her for her mess-up. She skipped over to the bench where she left her glove, humming to herself all the while.

"The girls are ahead by two points, twenty-one to nineteen!" Yuna declared excitedly into her mic. "The girls just got three outs, and now it's the boys' turn to bat for the eighth inning!"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	18. Chapter 18

_- x - x - x - x -_

_Dedicated to perfect sorceress_

_The 200__th__ reviewer _

_Couldn't have made it without you_

_p.s. – My Roxas plushie loves you :3_

- x - x - x - x -

"ARG!"

For the millionth time that day, Naminé fell out of the tree. She landed face first on the ground below, writhing in pain in front of Sephiroth. The little boy stared down at her with widened, watery eyes. Naminé couldn't stand the sight of the child, which was the only reason why she continued trying to get the cat out of the tree. However, the darn feline was still resting peacefully in the tree branch, staring down at Naminé like it was mocking her feeble attempts. Grumbling, the blonde got up off her rear and brushed her white dress off. Gritting her teeth together and plastering the most determined look on her face, Naminé jumped up and grabbed hold of the closest branch.

The cat meowed softly, almost cutely. Too bad for the cat that Naminé was too irked at it to really give a hoot on how adorable it was. The blonde girl grumbled and swore under her breath as she scaled the tree higher and higher. Her knees were scraped and her arms were scuffed, but the blonde didn't care. All she wanted to do was help out Sephiroth and get to the game as quickly as possible. She had already stalled long enough. No doubt Olette was freaking out by now. Naminé almost slipped again, but this time she caught herself. The cat blinked, then yawned. The determination was crystal clear on Naminé's face as she reached up towards the feline. Her arm trembled and her fingers quivered as she stretched her arm as far out as she could. Everything slowed down as she sensed her victory nearing.

And then she heard it.

The low groaning of the branch cracking. Flinching, Naminé's eyes quickly darted from the lazy cat to the branch she was holding onto. Slowly, the branch started to splinter away from the rest of the tree, unable to support all of Naminé's weight. With one final crack, the entire branch broke off and Naminé was sent falling back down to earth. The noise of the branch cracking, however, startled the cat and pulled the feline away from its peaceful trance. Naminé landed back down on the grass face first with Sephiroth watching with blinking eyes. Meowing, the cat jumped from its spot on the tree and landed safely on Naminé backside. The cat hopped off and landed in Sephiroth's arms. The boy squealed in delight and the cat purred as Naminé groaned in excruciating pain.

"Thank you, kind lady!" Sephiroth laughed as he ran up to the blonde when she stood back up.

Naminé muttered darkly under her breath as she wiped off her dress once more. She patted down her messed up hair, pulling out a few leaves as she did so. The girl wasn't going to try to hide it any more, and stared down at the little boy angrily. She glared at the cat purring in his arms.

"Yeah, no problem," she grumbled.

And without so much as another word, Naminé spun on her heels and took off at top speed down the sidewalk. Behind her, Sephiroth was laughing and waving goodbye enthusiastically to her. At least he was grateful for what she did. She didn't turn around to look, but she was pretty sure the cat was taunting her from the boy's arms. It was official. Naminé hated cats.

- x - x - x - x -

"Here we go, Sirens! Here we go!" Rikku cheered with gusto from her secluded spot in leftfield. She waved her arm around in an attempt at cheerleading while hopping up and down excitedly. Olette couldn't help but smile where she stood on the pitcher's mound, able to here the bubbly blonde even from all the way over there. The boys were deciding who was up to bat in their dugout as Yuna continued gabbing into her mike. "Here we go, Sirens! Here we go!"

Olette smirked and the crowd cheered as Sora stepped out of the dugout with a bat propped up casually on his shoulder. With his head hung low, he strutted his way up to the home plate. For a moment, Olette caught herself quickly glancing around. Secretly, she had been hoping that Naminé would just randomly pop up from out of nowhere and, returning to help the girls win the game. However, there was no sign of her blonde best friend. And she knew there wouldn't be, either, seeing as how Naminé was probably back home by now. Sighing inwardly, Olette returned her attention back to the game. Sora was already standing in his batting position, waiting for her to throw the ball.

With the crowd cheering, Yuna talking, Paine sighing, and the girls shouting words of encouragement to her from all around the lot, Olette brought her gloved hand and the ball to her face. Arching back, she brought the ball back. After a momentary pause, she chucked the ball forward with as much strength as she could muster. Her curveball went flying right at Sora, whistling through the air as it did so. He swung forward in an attempt to hit the baseball. But fortunately for Olette, he missed completely and the ball went zooming past him right into Tifa's glove. He blinked in bewilderment for a moment as the girls in the field and crowd behind him cheered.

"That's number one, Sora's first out!" Yuna chirped happily into her microphone with a huge smile plastered onto her face.

Frowning, Sora got back into his batting position while Tifa threw the ball back at Olette. She spun her arm around in a full circle to relax her muscles. With the audience quieting down a bit, Olette waited for a moment before throwing a fastball at the spiky-haired brunet. Sora swung forward with a powerful swing and hit the ball with a loud _crack_. He was off as the ball went soaring through the air over Olette's head. The boys in the dugout went crazy, cheering at the top of their lungs for their team captain. Selphie was running around in circles underneath the ball. She stuck her gloved arm up into the air, but missed catching the baseball by a few centimeters. She ran after it as Sora prepared to run onto first base.

Quickly, Selphie plucked the baseball off the ground, turned on her heels, and threw the ball at Kairi over at first. The redhead saw this coming, and stuck her arm out in time to catch the ball. Kairi turned back to face Sora and stood out in front of the base, preparing to tag him out. Sora saw this happening, and tried to skid to a sudden halt. However, he had been running so fast that he only went sliding through the dirt in a feeble attempt to stop. Not only that, but he also managed to trip over his own feet. Kairi screamed and Sora yelped when he lunged forward and accidentally crashed into her, kicking up a cloud of dust around them. The next few moments happened so quickly, they were nothing more than a blur to Olette.

Selphie and Yuffie broke out into loud peals of laughter from their positions on the field at the sight. The crowd gasped dramatically at what they saw. When Yuna's eyes landed on Sora and Kairi, she oohed mischievously into her mike. Over at the dugout the boys were chortling like the morons they were while Roxas slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead. Something told him the boys would never let Sora live this down after this. Oh well, at least they would all leave him alone and start bugging his brunet cousin. Olette could only smile anxiously, worried Sora was Kairi's next victim. Sora had crashed into Kairi with so much force, he caused the both of them to topple to the dirt. Not only that, but he had also landed lip first on top of Kairi.

Sora and Kairi stared at each other with widened, horrified eyes for a moment before the two of them realized they had accidentally exchanged a kiss with each other. Over at the side was the baseball, which had rolled out of Kairi's glove when Sora ran into her. Technically, he wasn't out since she never tagged him out. The two remained lying in the dirt for a moment before Sora hurriedly jumped off the petite auburn-haired girl, his face glowing bright crimson. Kairi quickly sat up, only being able to stare up at the brunet with widened eyes.

"It must run in the family!" Hayner laughed loudly, tears swelling up in his eyes, as he elbowed Roxas in the ribs. Grunting, the blond quickly sent his friend a glare.

"Well, folks!" Yuna giggled into her mike. It only caused Kairi's cheeks to tint a brighter shade of pink. "This game is turning out to be an interesting one."

Olette stepped in before anyone else could embarrass Kairi. After all, she knew how it felt. "Uh… what's the call, Tifa?"

Tifa quickly glanced away from Kairi and Sora so as to look over at the girls' pitcher. She wiped the grin off her face and replaced it with a serious look. "Ahem… I guess safe, considering…" Tifa could no longer contain herself and started laughing. Poor Kairi had to look away from the rest of the girls on her team in fear of them noticing the intense blush erupting across her face. Sora cleared his throat uncomfortably, the laughter coming from the boys only increasing the red tint in his flush.

"Anyway… safe!" Tifa announced through a chuckle. She had tried to straighten herself up, but failed when she felt the laughter come back once more. Kairi might have been her friend, but she couldn't help but laugh at what just happened.

Olette quickly glanced over at first base, feeling Kairi's pain. It must have been karma or something, otherwise Olette would have been the only one tortured about the exact same reason. Sora was standing awkwardly on the first plate, avoiding all eye contact with Kairi. As for the redhead, she stood in front of the spiky haired brunet with her back turned to him and her eyes glued to her feet. Olette quickly caught the ball when Kairi clumsily threw it back at her. The boys over in the dugout, being the insensitive idiots they were, continued laughing at what Sora had accidentally done. The brunette pitcher tried not to smile as she turned back to the home plate. Though Kairi acted embarrassed about the whole ordeal, something told Olette the redhead liked it. And the exact same could be said for Sora, who was discreetly grinning to himself.

Riku ambled his way over to the home plate, a bat in his hand and laughter escaping through his lips. Both Roxas and Olette rolled their eyes when the boys and girls were unable to control their laughter. Chortling, the silver haired boy positioned himself into his batting stance. The crowd, luckily for Kairi, hadn't joined in with the cruel laughter. Though, Olette could have sworn she heard the familiar, teasing giggling of Axel. But then again, maybe she just imagined it. Yuna and Paine, however, were too busy snickering into their microphones to make any comments about Riku being up to bat. Before he had a chance to concentrate on the game, Olette chucked the ball over towards Riku. He was much too busy with his own moronic laughter to actually notice Olette had thrown the ball. It flew right past him, landing perfectly in Tifa's glove.

"Strike one!" Tifa shouted out into the field, holding the baseball in her glove.

"Ooh!" Yuna squealed into her mike, leaning over the table excitedly. "It seems number twenty-two, Riku, missed the ball due to all the laughing he was doing. Better pay attention next time!"

Olette noticed the sneer flashing across Riku's face. She couldn't blame him. The commentary was starting to get to her, too. The brunette controlled her smirk as best she could. Hopefully, pitching the ball when the batter wasn't paying attention on purpose wouldn't count as cheating. After all, she only did it for Kairi. Olette glanced back at the redhead out of the peripheral of her vision. It seemed Kairi had relaxed some by now, her face not glowing as bright red as it had before. When Riku was finished getting back into his batting stance, Olette held the baseball close to her face and stared him down. A refreshing breeze quickly passed over the lot, awakening her senses. In one swift movement, the ball left her hand and went soaring towards the silver haired boy at home plate.

Riku took off when he hit the ball, sending it flying over towards the right field. After stumbling over his own feet for a moment, Sora dashed over to Selphie at second base. For a split second, Olette thought she saw a look of disappointment make its way onto Kairi's face when Sora left her alone back at first. However, she dismissed this idea and went back to concentrating on the game. Larxene hurried up to the baseball, which was rolling towards her on the grass by now. Riku slid through the dirt, making it to first. Quickly, Larxene grabbed the ball off the ground and used all her strength to send it flying to Selphie at second. The girl stretched her arm out and waited for the ball to land in her glove. But Sora had already run across the second plate by the time she got the baseball in her hand.

"And… he's safe!" Yuna sang into her microphone. Paine wasn't paying attention, but instead staring blankly up at the sky and taking notice about how the once white clouds were gradually turning a light shade of grey. "Number thirteen, Roxas, is now up to bat for the boys!"

And just as Yuna had pointed out, Roxas made his way out of the dugout with a bat propped up on his shoulder. Though the entire crowd was cheering, both Roxas and Olette were able to make out one voice in particular. It wasn't that difficult, though, especially since Axel was standing up all the way in the bleachers while waving tiny flags around above his head. Sitting next to him were Demyx, Marluxia, Luxord, and Xigbar. All four of the men slumped down as far as they could on the bench they were sitting on, shielding their faces with their hands so other people wouldn't jump to the conclusion that they knew Axel. The red haired man continued waving the flags (which he seemed to randomly pull out of thin air) around in the air while cheering the loudest for Roxas. It was no surprise he earned the disturbed stares of everyone else sitting on the bleachers. Only when Axel noticed Larxene curiously glancing his way from the right field did he stop making a fool of himself. When he caught Larxene staring surprised at him, Axel screamed like a frightened child and quickly ducked back into the crowd, disappearing from everyone's sights.

Shaking his head out of humiliated shame, Roxas quickly hurried up over to the home plate. Tifa shuffled on her feet as the blond got into his batting stance. Olette tossed the ball back and forth in her hands, remembering she had two people on the first and second bases. Before she swung her arm back to pitch, she quickly noticed the smile Roxas secretly flashed at her. Unfortunately for her, it seemed the analytical Yuna also noticed.

"Roxas is now up to bat, being forced to face his girlfriend at home plate!" she chirped into her mike, only causing Paine to snicker loudly to herself.

Olette groaned inwardly when Yuna's comment caused some of the boys on Roxas' team to also snicker. Roxas narrowed his eyes, probably plotting some kind of inhumane revenge on Yuna and the boys. Olette couldn't blame him. She was doing the exact same thing. Not even caring anymore, she just chucked the ball towards home base. Sora was about to run over towards third, but Roxas took a swing at the baseball and completely missed. This earned him a few snippy remarks from the other boys.

"Strike one!" Tifa tossed the ball back over to Olette.

"It seems Roxas just can't fight back against his girlfriend!" Yuna added into her microphone, unaware of the humiliation she was forcing both Olette and Roxas to go through.

As the boys went on chortling at what they thought was a funny joke, Olette swung her arm back completely while arching her back. She mustered up all her strength and sent a fastball at Roxas. The blond swung the bat forward in hopes of hitting the baseball over towards the outfield. Instead, though, Roxas missed the ball again and it landed back in Tifa's glove. As much as he didn't want to, Roxas noticed the enraged look of competitiveness explode onto his cousin's face while Tifa hurled the ball back towards Olette.

"Come on, Roxas!" Sora shouted from second base, his hands cupped around his mouth. Roxas' eye twitched as he positioned himself back into his batting stance, trying as hard as he could to ignore his cousin's demands. "I don't care if she is your girlfriend! Don't mess this up for us!"

"You didn't hear _me_ complain when you took the time to make out with Kairi!" Roxas yelled back, failing to fight off his urge to embarrass Sora. His little comment worked, causing the boys to crack up into loud peals of laughter. However, his comment embarrassed both Sora and Kairi. Well, at least it got his cousin to stop yelling.

As much as it made Olette laugh to see Sora submit to his humiliation, she didn't like the idea of Roxas hurting Kairi's feelings in the process. As another form of revenge, she sent him another fastball, except this time when he wasn't looking. Roxas noticed the ball coming a second too late, and he barely hit the baseball. The white ball flew over Olette's head and went zooming through the air towards Kairi. Sora hurried off in the direction of the third base, with Riku making a mad dash towards second. Roxas threw his bat aside in a state of bewilderment and ran as fast as he could towards first. Just as Sora stepped onto third and began making his way over to the home plate and Riku round second, Kairi plucked the baseball rolling towards her off the ground and quickly tagged Roxas before he even had a chance to step onto the first base. Sora remained angrily at third while Riku backtracked his way towards second.

Roxas quickly sent Olette a hurt look before solemnly heading back over to the boys' dugout. She wasn't quite sure, but she had the strangest feeling that he knew she purposely caught him off guard. But he hadn't looked mad, and as long as he wasn't upset about it she wasn't going to worry about it. The situation didn't get any better, however, when Yuna chimed into her mike, "Ooh, it looks like Olette has just betrayed her boyfriend!"

And it didn't help that at that exact moment, all the boys in the dugout laughed and pointed at Roxas. The blond scowled, getting ready to unleash his wrath on his friends.

Before any violence could break out, Seifer quickly grabbed a bat and strutted up to the home plate. He stood confidently in front of Tifa, standing in the best batting stance he could pull off. The girls in the outfield all took several steps back, fully aware of how good Seifer's swing was. Olette took a quick and sharp inhale, building up as much stamina as she could. An eerie hush feel over the once excited crowd as Olette arched herself back, holding her arm back as far as she could. She hurled the baseball at Seifer, allowing it to slip out of her hand at top speed. Without so much as hesitation, Seifer swung the bat forward and made contact with the ball. In the blink of an eye, he was off along with the baseball.

Sora sprinted away from third base, kicking up a trail of dirt as he did so. Riku chased after him, making his way from second over towards Fuu at third. Olette's eyes trailed after the ball, her green pools flickering over to the leftfield where Rikku was stationed. When she saw the blonde running around in circles like a chicken with its head cut off with her gloved hand held high above her head, the female pitcher couldn't help bur groan inwardly. Riku rounded third right after Sora stepped onto home base, causing his team to break out into triumphant cheering.

Rikku ran around in her circles underneath the flying baseball, trying to determine where it was going to land. Just when she thought she had finally figured out where the ball was going to fall out of the sky, she accidentally tripped over her own two feet. Yelping, Rikku went tumbling to the grass with her gloved hand still stretched out before her. She hit the ground with the baseball landing right next to her and rolling off. The blonde sniffled disappointingly to herself as she tried to brush aside the yells and demands her fellow teammates were shouting at her. Rikku held back the tears and chased after the baseball, ashamed of the fact that she let her team down again.

"Yikes. It seems Rikku over in the leftfield tripped and ended up not catching that easy fly ball," Paine droned into her microphone. Over at the leftfield, Rikku was inwardly crying to herself.

By the time the bubbly blonde got the ball into her glove and chucked it over at Selphie, Riku had stepped on the home plate and earned the boys yet another point. Seifer slid to a halt at second, Tifa declaring him safe. Selphie tossed the ball back to Olette while she scowled to herself. Rikku stood in the leftfield, rubbing her eyes roughly. Olette turned away from the sight, trying not to let Rikku get to her.

"The boys have caught up to the girls, tied twenty-one to twenty-one!" Yuna spoke dramatically into her microphone. The crowd cheered, begging for more from the game.

Olette held the ball tightly in her hand as Hayner appeared at home base. He tapped the tip of his bat against the plate before holding it up above his shoulder. Hayner tried to keep his gaze away from Kairi, fully aware of the death glare she was piercing into him. The boy gulped, hoping she didn't have another iPod on her or something. He would have liked to avoid first base and Kairi all together, but Hayner knew that wasn't possible and swallowed down his fear. Olette didn't notice this and simply threw the ball over at him. Hayner remained frozen, allowing the baseball to fly past him.

"Ball one!" Tifa announced, throwing the baseball back over to Olette at the pitcher's mound.

Olette brushed back her hair, focusing all her strength on her pitching. She could feel her arm tiring, all the countless pitching getting to her. A break would have been nice, but she knew that was out of the question and decided not to complain about it. The girl swung her pitching arm around in a full circle, relaxing her muscles. After pausing for a brief moment, Olette threw her arm forward and let go of the baseball. Unfortunately, she threw yet another bad pitch and Hayner let the baseball fly right past him.

Tifa caught the ball in her glove. She hurled it back at Olette while shouting, "Ball two!"

"Looks like number seventeen, Olette, is losing her touch," Yuna dramatized, a gasp laced into her sentence. Sitting next to her, Pain yawned and stretched her arms above her head. Yuna quickly sent her friend and annoyed glance before returning her attention to the game.

"Keep it up, Hayner!" Pence encouraged from the dugout with Roxas standing right next to him.

Olette held her glove to her face, holding the baseball in it with her other hand. She felt another breeze waft over the crowded lot, noticing this time it was chillier than before. The brunette didn't think too long about it, though, because that was when she sent a curveball flying right at Hayner. Finally, the boy swung his bat forward. There was a loud _crack_ when the bat made its fierce contact with the baseball. The ball went soaring through the air in the other direction as Hayner ran off while throwing his bat aside and Seifer dashed away from second and headed off towards third.

The crowd broke out into another excited cheer as the boys in the dugout shouted words of encouragement to both Hayner and Seifer. Olette couldn't believe how fast Seifer was. It was like he was pumped up on steroids or something! At least, she hoped he wasn't. While Seifer round third by now, the ball was rolling past Selphie and over to Yuffie out in the centerfield. Hayner made a quick dash past Kairi, trying to avoid making contact with her as much as possible. Yuffie hurriedly grabbed the ball off the ground. With one powerful swing, she sent the ball flying towards Tifa. Alas, Yuffie didn't throw the baseball in time to tag Seifer out. The tall boy sprinted past the home plate before the ball even reached the girls' catcher. Tifa, shocked at how fast Seifer had run past her, accidentally tripped forward in an attempt to pluck the baseball out of the air. She toppled onto the home plate as the ball rolled behind her.

Seifer made his way back to the dugout where the boys were cheering and chortling loudly, cackling to himself. Grumbling incoherent words, Tifa grabbed the ball from behind her and sharply threw it back at Olette. She gasped and quickly caught the ball, shielding her face with her glove when Tifa threw it violently back at her. Hayner stopped safely at the second base, resting and catching his breath.

"The boys are now ahead by one point!" Yuna announced as the boys decided who was up to bat next.

"It's twenty-two to twenty-one," Paine added quickly, her tone of voice more bored than ever. "The girls are going to need to make a desperate comeback if they don't want the boys to get too far ahead."

Before any more comments could be made, Tidus had appeared at the home plate with a bat of his own. Behind him, the crowd was cheering with excitement. Over at the dugout, the boys were whooping victoriously, like they had won the entire game. A determined look of intense seriousness flashed onto Olette's face. She dug her foot into the dirt of the pitcher's mound and held her glove up. Tidus looked ready to bat and waited for the girl to make her move. Behind her, Olette was certain Hayner was preparing himself to possibly steal third base. With the crowd cheering, the boys hollering, and the girls shouting, Olette swiftly brought her arm back and then forward. She thought she would have surely gotten Tidus with her incredible fastball.

Unfortunately, she didn't.

On the contrary, Tidus swung his bat forward after perfectly timing it and hit the ball up into the air. Hayner took off like a bullet, and Tidus threw his bat aside while Olette remained at the pitcher's mound with her jaw hanging wide open. She could only stand at her little mound of dirt, watching the ball fly its way over towards Larxene in the right field. Larxene lunged out with her gloved hand held out before her in an attempt to catch the ball. But instead, she landed painfully in the grass and the ball missed her glove by just mere centimeters. Olette blinked and watched Hayner run onto the home plate and Tidus round first base.

"The boys are on a roll today," she murmured to herself as she watched Tidus hurry over to second base.

He quickly slid to safety, Selphie unable to tag him out. Selphie grabbed the baseball out of the air and threw it back over to Olette. She turned back to face Tifa behind the home plate. The tall girl still looked upset from her little mess-up with Seifer. Over at the announcer's table, Yuna was waving her arms elatedly and shouting random comments into her microphone. Paine looked like she was ready for a nap. The crowd sitting in the bleachers was roaring with excitement, while the girls on the field felt crestfallen from the boys' sudden pummeling.

"That's twenty-three points for the boys!" Yuna giggled into her mike. "And with only one out, the girls are going to need to pick up the pace if they don't want to lose!"

"No worries," Olette laughed anxiously to herself as she watched Rai make his way up to the home plate, strangling a bat in his hands. "It's only the eighth inning. We have plenty of time to catch up…"

Little did Olette know the boys weren't going down without a fight. Several of the boys had gone up to bat, and a majority of them had made it safely to the home plate. The girls standing in the field were about ready to pull their hair out, Olette being one of the girls trying desperately to control that urge. Roxas had been the only boy that got out so far. As if things weren't all ready bad enough, the boys managed to earn their team several points, putting the game at twenty-eight to twenty-one. At this rate, the girls were never going to catch up.

Olette sighed aggravatingly to herself and caught the ball from Tifa, who had finally tagged another boy out. Wakka had tried to run from third and earn a point at home base, but Tifa caught the ball in time and tagged the boy out. Crestfallen, Wakka trudged back over to the dugout with the boys yelling at him. Olette pressed her fingers to her forehead, begging her headache to go away, if only for five minutes. She also wanted the chilly breeze to stop. It made it harder to concentrate on pitching her best. She sighed and returned her attention to the boy making his way up to the home plate.

Pence stood awkwardly at the home plate while holding up a bat. Riku was at third base, his leg stretched out as far as he could get it while barely stepping on the base. No doubt he was going to try to steal home base when Olette pitched. Over at second was Sora, and the first base was loaded with Roxas at it. The breeze passed over the lot, Olette unable to control her shivering this time.

"Bases are loaded," Yuna whispered. Paine snored quietly from beside her. "Boys are ahead by seven points with only two outs."

Nervously, Olette arched back and brought her leg up for more emphasis. She hesitated briefly before bringing her arm forward and letting go of the ball. Pence swung the bat and Riku took off. As the ball went soaring through the air over towards the right field, Pence chucked his bat aside and made his way over to first as fast as he could. Larxene followed after the ball with her glove stretched high above her head. Olette watched anxiously back and forth between Riku and Larxene. Luckily, the silver haired boy wasn't nearly as fast as Seifer, but if Larxene failed to catch the baseball he was going to easily earn the boys another point. Larxene followed after the ball all the way to the very back of the right field, up to the fence. She stood, pressed up against the fence, with her arm stretched out as far as she could get it. But there was no way she was going to catch the ball. Pence had, unfortunately, hit a perfect homerun. Riku was about to run onto the home plate when everyone in the field, dugout, and audience gasped. He skidded to a stop just a few feet away from the home base. Riku quickly glance over his shoulder and directed his attention to the right field.

Larxene gawked up at the silhouetted figure with her head craned back. She was about to jump for the baseball when a mysterious shadow cast over her. That was when she looked up to see what was going on. Olette also stared wide-eyed at the scene, unable to believe who had finally showed up to save the game. Balancing herself halfway on the fence with her gloved arm stretched out and the baseball resting comfortably in her glove was none other than Naminé, a wide grin of victory stretching across her ivory-toned face. Naminé's blue eyes fluttered away from the baseball she successfully caught in her glove and trailed over all the girls standing in the field. Though her arms were tired from supporting her weight and her legs ached from dangling over the side of the fence, she was stuck in a short moment of euphoria along with Olette. Not only that, but she caught the third and final boy out.

Smiling cheekily, Naminé tilted her head to one side confidently and asked loudly enough for all the girls to hear, "Did you guys miss me?"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x – x – x – x -

_**A/N – Well, I know how much perfect sorceress like Sora/Kairi, so I decided to put a little bit of it in this chapter for her since it is dedicated to her and all. I know it was really short and none too fluffy, but I hoped you liked it anyway perfect sorceress! Hee, anyhow, the next chapter might be a small filler just so I can clear up what exactly it was that happened between Axel and Larxene. I'm sure you're all wondering what it was anyway. That and Sora has another evil plan in mind that I just HAVE to include, which is also what the next chapter will be used for. After that, it's the ninth and final inning! And… the end of this story!?**_

_**Ooh! By the way, I've also updated my other Roxas/Olette story (previously titled Roxette but now titled What I Hate About You) with better, edited, brand new chapters. So, if your interested… maybe you should check it out, too?**_


	19. Chapter 19

"Cheater!" Sora's index finger was pointed directly at Naminé. Her sapphire shaded eyes were crossed, staring directly at the finger the spiky-haired brunet had pointed at her. "Cheater, cheater, cheater!" he continued shouting, only now he was wildly waving his arms about.

"It seems number one, Sora from the boys' baseball team, is losing his mind out there," Yuna said with enthusiastic seriousness into her microphone. Sitting next to her was Paine, nodding her head slowly in agreement. "Apparently, they are having some issues with the sudden appearance of the girls' shortstop."

"So, for now, folks," Paine sighed into her own mike, "we're going to take a short intermission before the ninth inning starts up."

As if on cue, the crowd got up to stretch their legs for a bit. It was at that moment that Axel tried to make a run for it. Instead, his four poker buddies grabbed him by the arms and held him down against his will. While Axel was busy pleading in a sobbing manner to his friends to let him go, Olette was out on the field standing next to her best friend and listening to Sora rambling on about cheating.

"Cheater, cheater, cheater!"

"We heard you the first million times," Naminé exasperated while throwing her arms in the air. "And it's not cheating. What? Do you think I was just waiting behind the fence to catch any homerun that I came across?"

Sora jabbed his finger at her face again, causing the blonde to step back in surprise. "Exactly!"

"Well, I wasn't," Naminé defended.

"If that wasn't your plan, then," Sora huffed as he now crossed his arms, "then it should at least count as interference!"

"What?" Olette snapped as she stepped forward now. "Why?"

The girls stood around behind both the brunette and Naminé, just as annoyed with the sudden call for timeout as the other two girls were. Standing behind Sora was his entire team, a majority of the boys wearing defensive looks on their faces. Roxas stood next to Sora, rolling his eyes every so often when his cousin would yell, "Cheater!" However, while the boys were in agreement with their captain, the girls had different ideas.

"Because!" Sora said frustratingly. "She just popped out of nowhere and caught the ball! That's just… not fair!"

"It's not our place to call," Olette informed him, also crossing her arms. The two glared at each other for a moment before she continued. "We're not the umpires after all."

That was when everyone from both teams turned and faced Tifa and Pence. The two blinked with deadpanned looks for a moment, completely caught off guard by the sudden change in subject. Tifa rubbed the back of her neck out of bewilderment while all Pence could do was smile anxiously. The lot fell silent as the players were at a loss of words. The only noise could be heard from the breeze passing over the lot and the crowd mingling amongst themselves. Tifa cleared her throat, gesturing for Pence to say something.

Pence looked back at the boys on his team, not too sure what to say. "Um…"

"Um, what?" Sora snapped as he raised his chin in the air and glowered at Pence. The poor catcher chuckled nervously and looked away.

"Well," Tifa said a bit more confidently, staring Sora down quite literally. "Naminé was _still_ technically on our team. While she was gone for some time, we never officially removed her from our team. That hardly counts as interference."

Sora's eye twitched, unable to believe the words he was hearing. "What?"

"See! We still even have her jersey!" Rikku giggled as she held up the softball jersey with the number zero on it.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Sora grumbled angrily to himself. He ran his hand through his thorny hair roughly and glanced away from the girls. Olette could make out the look of aggravation clear on his face. "Interference! I call interference!"

"Now listen here, you little, bratty, no-good—" And Naminé was off, throwing out as many insults as she could at the boys' captain. Sora gladly returned her insults with rude remarks of his own. Not only were the two shortstops arguing with each other, but the girls and boys from both teams decided to break out into a fight with each other. Roxas and Olette stood back, watching in awed amazement, as the argument grew loud. Olette caught several colorful and descriptive insults, most likely coming out of Naminé's mouth.

"For crying out loud," Roxas sighed out of irritation, craning his head back and glaring up at the sky above his head. Casually waving his hand, the blond walked off away from the fight. Olette stared after him but quickly looked back at the fight. She flinched back when she saw both Tifa and Larxene holding Naminé back, attempting to lunge at Sora. Both Riku and Seifer were holding Sora back, who was also trying to dive at the blonde girl. Smiling fretfully to herself, Olette spun on her heels and followed after Roxas to the pitcher's mound. He looked up at her when she approached his side.

"I wish Sora would just get over himself," Roxas groaned, spinning his throwing arm around in a circle. "At this rate, we're never going to finish."

"I don't know," Olette admitted as she kicked at the dirt at her feet. "He kind of does have a point. I think what Naminé did counts as interference."

Roxas looked back at Olette with alarmed surprise on his pale face. "But I thought Tifa said—"

"You don't honestly buy that," she exasperated, "do you?"

The blond grinned anxiously, giving away the fact that he might have bought that load of bologna that Tifa gave for a moment. "Point taken."

"I think I'm just going to call interference, too," Olette sighed as she turned her back on Roxas, preparing to make her way back over to the fight Sora and Naminé were currently having.

However, she was interrupted when she heard Axel's familiar voice ringing in her ears. The fire-haired man called out to both her and Roxas. Swiftly, Olette whipped her head up only to have her green eyes land on the Roxas' red-haired guardian. Axel was up at the fence, waving his hand excitedly in the manner he usually did. Demyx, Marluxia, Xigbar, and Luxord were standing around the man, waving as well. Olette heard Roxas swear to himself under his breath. She quickly glanced over at him to see his face burning red suddenly. The girl looked back up at Axel and, while smiling anxiously, waved back with less enthusiasm.

"Roxas!" Axel sang in a teasing tone. "Why don't you bring Olette over here and introduce her to my pals!"

"Run, before he rips your dignity to shreds!" Roxas ordered, whispering his word of advice to Olette so Axel wouldn't be able to hear him.

"I'm sure Axel's friends aren't as bad as he is," Olette laughed while dragging Roxas up to the men behind him.

"Olette! Wait—"

It was too late, though. Olette had successfully dragged Roxas over to Axel and his poker buddies by the fence against his will. Axel grinned down at his godson mischievously, a warning sign that he was going to embarrass the blond boy to no end. Olette quickly scanned Axel's friends, instantly noting their odd appearances. A mullet? Pink hair? An eye patch? Was that man wearing earrings? Suddenly, Olette was starting to think she should have listened to Roxas.

"So this is Roxas' girlfriend?" Demyx chimed, leaning over the fence to get a good look at Olette's face. Her nervous grin grew in size, wincing back slightly as the guy quickly scanned her face. "And I thought she was pretty in the picture. But she's a lot prettier looking in person!"

"What… picture?" Olette demanded slowly, glancing from Demyx, to Axel, then to Roxas.

"All right, let's go!" Roxas ordered hurriedly, grabbing Olette's hand in an attempt to drag her away.

"Isn't she just the cutest?" Axel cooed, reaching over and tugging on one of the girl's cheeks as he did so. "You know, she was the cause of a fight between Sora and Roxas."

"You don't say?" Luxord chuckled when he noticed Olette's face burning bright pink. "Were punches thrown, or was it just an exchange of words?"

"Oh, no! There was punching. Lots of punching!" Axel sang, positively beaming.

"That's enough, Axel," Roxas warned through tightly gritted teeth.

"Ah, look! Now I've gone and embarrassed him!" the red-haired man laughed, swishing his hand through the air. While Axel's friends chortled loudly amongst themselves, Roxas stood where he was glaring his guardian to death.

"Seriously," Olette asked with anxiety laced into her voice, "what picture?"

"You know," Marluxia began, his voice just as teasing as Axel's was. "Roxas was never one to make a move. He's always been such a shy little boy."

Upon saying this, all five grown men broke out into childish giggling. Olette couldn't help but compare them to schoolgirls. In fact, she was slightly disturbed.

"So, tell us," Xigbar said when he finally calmed himself down. "What won you over? Was it that forceful kiss he planted on you?"

Just Olette's reaction alone caused the five men to start chortling among themselves again. Bewildered, she quickly glanced over at Roxas. The blond only shook his head, sighing as he did so, and shrugged his shoulders. Olette looked back up at the men to see they had been laughing so hard they needed to lean on each other for support. Axel slapped his thigh, Demyx wiped a tear from his eye, and Marluxia was currently choking on his spit from laughing too hard. Luxord and Xigbar had their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, laughing like they had heard the most hilarious joke around. For a moment, Olette suddenly found it difficult to not think of these men as friends. They certainly acted like each other, that much she gave them.

"And… how is it… you… know about… that?" She was much too shocked to speak in full, complete sentences.

"Axel was the one who took the picture with Sora," Roxas admitted, his head hung low so he could hide the red tint on his face from Olette. "And then he printed out copies and gave _them_ some."

With her jaw hanging open and an angry look on her face, Olette snapped her head around and sent her most furious expression up at Axel. However, instead of striking fear into him, the man only broke out into more loud peals of laughter upon glancing at the young girl's expression. Not only did it cause Axel to continue laughing like an idiot, but it also caused his friend to crack up at something they thought was hilarious. Axel resumed slapping his thigh, simply taken over by laughter.

"Why you… little…" Olette growled, glaring dark daggers into Roxas' guardian. The blond boy stood back, fully aware of what Olette was capable of when she was angered.

However, Olette never got her chance to unleash her wrath on Axel. It was because at that exact moment, the men's laughter was interrupted by one voice. As Axel continued giggling to himself, his four friends gasped at the sight, stopped laughing, and even took a few steps back. Roxas and Olette simply stared confusingly at Axel's friends' reactions as the red-haired man went on laughing.

"Well, well. If it isn't Axel."

That one feminine voice caused Axel to instantly stop laughing as his face was suddenly drained of color. Her voice alone was able to strike the very fear of God into the man, something Olette wasn't able to do with her dark glower. Axel's teal colored eyes flickered up and landed on the woman standing before him. The poor man looked like he was silently suffering from a heart attack, the fear on his face so intense Olette couldn't even describe it with mere words. Larxene stood in front of Axel with a smooth smirk, her arms crossed together with one blonde eyebrow arched up. Roxas and Olette glanced up at Larxene curiously, wondering why Axel had changed suddenly in mood upon her arrival. The fire-haired man's jaw went slack and he was suddenly speechless. Behind him, Luxord, Marluxia, Xigbar, and Demyx were discreetly snickering to themselves.

Axel finally gave a pitiful yelp and spun on his feet. He tried to make a run for it, anything to escape the woman's wrath. Unfortunately, Larxene was too quick for him. Just as Axel was about to sprint away, she reached out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt's collar. Axel yelped when she pulled back forcefully on his collar. His four friend's had a hard enough time trying to contain their laughter, but watching him finally face Larxene after who knows how long was enough to have them laughing for hours. Larxene pulled Axel over the fence as far as she could and brought his face close to her own. He smiled anxiously up at her, his smile quivering and his face turning completely pale.

"H—Hi Larxene…" Axel tittered, the awkward position the blonde woman had forced him into painful for his back. "How's it going…?"

Meanwhile, Olette and Roxas could only stand back and watch, slightly confused as to what was happening. All their questions were about to be answered, though.

"Long time no see, Axel," Larxene purred, the sadistic smile on her face only causing Axel's face to turn whiter. "And how's your mother doing?"

Roxas tilted his head to one side. "Nana?"

"She's just fine… thank you for asking…"

Olette was more than surprised that Axel hadn't died on the spot by now.

Larxene titled her head slightly, smiling sickeningly sweet down at Axel. "Has she asked about me lately?"

Axel shook his head quickly, his head nothing more than a red blur. "N—no…"

"You _still_ owe me my money, Axel," Larxene snarled as she finally lost her sweet tone of voice. The sharpness of her tone caused all of the men standing around to wince, even though no pain had been inflicted on any of them.

Roxas now slapped the palm of his hand against his face, which earned him the attention of Olette and everyone else. "Were you gambling _again_, Axel?" he sighed disappointingly.

Smiling, Axel shook his head. "Of course not!" he chimed rather nervously.

"Quite the contrary," Larxene butted in, now finally letting go of Axel's collar. He retreated to the other side of the fence and scurried behind his poker buddies for shelter. "He just owes me some money for a favor I did for him."

"Favor?" Roxas turned to face his guardian, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "What sort of favor."

"That's not a story we need to get into!" Axel laughed, his voice thick with nervousness, as he waved his hand nonchalantly.

"You mean he didn't tell you?" Larxene inquired, glancing away from Axel so as to stare down at Roxas.

The blond boy darkened the glare he had directed at Axel. "Tell me _what_?"

"Funny story!" Axel chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, my mother wouldn't stop bugging me. She kept going on and on about how I needed to find myself a good wife. Even kept trying to hook me up with complete strangers! It was starting to get annoying."

"So then one day Axel came to me, his good old buddy, Larxene," she continued for him, shooting him a dark look as she did so. Axel flinched back, yelped, and went back to hiding behind the other men. They all sighed and shook their heads in disappointment. "He said he would pay me a good sum of money if I pretended to be his fiancée so as to get his mother to leave him alone. That old bag bought the entire ruse, too."

"You lied to Nana?" Roxas asked childishly, looking back at Axel with actual hurt in his eyes.

"I'd hardly call it lying," Axel now laughed smoothly, once again coming out from behind his friends. "As long as she left me alone, why should I care?" Roxas was clearly not amused.

"The only problem was," Larxene continued as her voice turned dark, "afterwards I lost all contact with Axel. Funny how his phone number changed the _very_ next day. Apparently, he also moved to a different house."

Roxas tapped his index finger against his chin, staring up at the sky in thought. "So _that_ was why we moved that one day!" Axel shrugged with his anxious smile still sitting precariously on his face.

"And now…" Larxene chuckled in a low and maniacal tone as she cracked her knuckles. This earned her Axel's full and undivided attention. "I want my money."

"About your money…" Axel laughed, still as nervous as ever.

He was interrupted when Larxene reached over and began strangling him, screaming about the money he owed her. She began shaking him vigorously back and forth from the opposite side of the fence as Axel's friends stood back and watched in amusement, even placing bets. All Olette and Roxas could do was slowly walk away, Roxas shaking his head tiredly as Olette glanced every so often over her shoulder. Inwardly, she admitted she worried _slightly_ about Axel's wellbeing. If Larxene didn't control herself, she was going to kill him.

"At least that got us away from them," Roxas murmured under his breath, his arms folded behind his head as he craned his neck back and continued staring up at the sky.

"There's still that problem," Olette sighed aggravatingly while pointing over at the corner of the lot. Naminé and Sora were still at it, him calling her a cheater and her calling him a plethora of colorful insults.

Both the teens sighed and hung their heads. Olette rolled the idea over in her head and figured the absolute best thing to do now was quit and give up the idea of joining the boys' baseball team. It was starting to become a real hassle, and the headache it gave her just wasn't worth it anymore. Then again, she would have loved nothing more than to rub the fact that she could play on a team with boys in Sora's face. Still, there _was_ the headache to worry about. The look on her face contorted slightly as the brunette frowned to herself, now lost in thought. Roxas glanced her way and took notice of the look, reading her mind with just one glimpse.

"You're not considering quitting now, are you?" he asked, a serious tone hinted in his voice.

Olette jabbed her thumb over her shoulder towards the fence where Larxene was still stripping Axel of whatever was left of his life. "Is it even worth it?" She then gestured towards the heated argument going on between Naminé and Sora. "Is _that_ worth it?"

Roxas shrugged as he turned his back on the green-eyed brunette, simultaneously folding his arms behind his head. "And here I thought you were determined," he commented quietly.

Olette blinked, slightly surprised to hear the words that just came out of his mouth. The blond kept his back towards the girl as a momentary silence fell over the two. Before Olette had a chance to open her mouth and respond, someone called her name out from behind her. She whirled around, only to see Yuffie, Kairi, and Selphie hurry towards her. Peering around the oncoming girls, she saw her best friend and rival were still arguing, neither of them letting up. Yuffie was the first to approach Olette, a frantic look of panic stricken across her face.

"Um… I don't think either one of them is going to give up anytime soon," she informed Olette of what she was already aware of as she gestured back towards Sora and Naminé.

Selphie appeared by Yuffie's side, knelt over as she tried to regain her breath. "I'm tired of this!" the chestnut-haired girl complained, her tone of voice whiney. "Olette, do something!"

Kairi soon joined the group, glancing back towards the two still arguing from over her shoulder. She glimpsed back at Olette, her cobalt eyes widened. "What are we going to do, Olette?" she gasped. "If we don't convince Sora, we'll never win!"

Olette blinked back at the three girls standing before her, at a loss of words. Quickly, she cast Roxas a glance even though he refused to face her. She inhaled deeply before facing the three again. Her green eyes landed on Kairi first and remained glued to the redhead as she momentarily stared, thinking. The corners of Olette's lips slowly curved up into a devilish smile instantaneously, finally realizing the easy solution to their problem. Kairi tilted her head to one side when Olette's smirk frightened her suddenly. An uncomfortable feeling began churning in the pit of her stomach, warning her of her oncoming doom. Even then, she couldn't make an escape for it.

Selphie and Yuffie glanced back and forth between the redhead and the brunette, slow to catch on to what Olette's intentions were. When they finally realized the plan the emerald-eyed girl concocted, however, the both of them also joined in with the smirking. Roxas glanced curiously back at the small group of girls when their conversation grew quiet, only to take notice of the three smirks directed at Kairi. A strained grin appeared on his face, also aware of what Kairi was in for.

"Are you two thinking what I'm thinking?" Olette questioned, finally prying her eyes away from Kairi and directing them towards the other two girls.

Selphie bounced up to Kairi and linked her arm with the redhead's. "It's absolutely perfect!" she squealed. "It's bound to work!"

"Smart plan, Captain," Yuffie snickered, earning herself Kairi's worried stare. "Don't know why we didn't think of it before."

"Kairi, of all people, doesn't deserve that punishment, Olette," Roxas tried convincing playfully, winking at the redhead.

"What?" Kairi looked at each of their faces bewilderedly, the nervous churning still twisting her stomach into tight and uncomfortable knots. "What punishment?"

Olette leaned forward with her hand cupped around her mouth and winked back at the redheaded girl. "How good are you at flirting, Kairi?"

- x - x - x - x -

"Oh, come on!" Naminé growled, throwing her hands up in the air out of frustration. "I was still technically part of the team! It's not cheating!"

"Interception!" Sora hissed back venomously. The boys surrounding the two groaned in agitation, wanting nothing more than to continue on with the game. "It still counts as interception!"

Paine sat at the announcers' table behind the fence, completely asleep. Yuna drummed the tips of her fingers against the tabletop, totally silent for once in her life. She sighed heavily into her microphone, quickly growing tired of the fight taking place out in the lot. The people in the audience were also becoming bored. The only thing entertaining them was the blonde woman strangling the redheaded man over by the fence. Yuna swiftly looked away from the scene Larxene was creating when she noticed Kairi timidly making her way towards Naminé and Larxene.

Kairi's face was almost as red as her hair, though she tried to hide it from the rest of the world. The poor girl tried to control her shallow breathing as she slowly, ever so slowly, made her way towards Sora. The world around her began to slowly spin and disappear, and her head turned dangerously light. Inside her chest, her heart was pounding loudly against her ribcage. Olette's plan reverberated back and forth against the walls of her mind, and she had to swallow down the lump that formed in her throat. Olette was crazy! This was insane! Why did she have to do it? Sure, Olette was technically captain of their team, but that didn't give her the right to force people to flirt against their own free will.

And with Sora, of all people!

The last thing Kairi wanted to do was give Sora the idea that she liked him. Even if there was a small, slight possibility that she did. But… why did it have to be her? Despite how Kairi looked, she didn't know the first thing about flirting. Olette was better off asking Selphie to do it! Or maybe even Yuffie! Her lightheadedness increased tenfold, and by the time she was finally standing in front of Sora, poor Kairi was on the verge of fainting. She stood in front of him, trembling uncontrollably and breathing rather loudly. It might have seemed like a silly thing to freak out about, but she just wasn't the girl for this job. Still, the fate of their team depended on this. And, unfortunately for Kairi, it was up to her.

_Just convince him otherwise with a bit of flirting._

Kairi scowled for a moment to herself when Olette's voice rung in her head again. What a stupid plan. It wasn't going to work! Sora was just too stubborn to listen to otherwise, even if Kairi was thrusting radiating hormones on him. Nevertheless, she swallowed down the fear that overtook her and stared Sora straight in the eye. The fight between him and Naminé grew silent when Kairi appeared and they stared back at the redhead. Everyone surrounding them also gawked at Kairi, waiting for anything. Not too far off, Olette was also watching with Yuffie, Selphie, and Roxas right beside her. She clenched her fists together and inwardly encouraged Kairi onward. If anyone could do this, it was her.

"Sora…" Kairi allowed her straight posture to go limp slightly so that she was hunching in a way she had seen Selphie do before when she was flirting. She tucked her knees together like she remembered seeing and brought her hand to her mouth, flashing Sora a pair of puppy-dog eyes.

Sora straightened up quickly when he saw what was going on. Even then, that didn't stop that light patch of red from crawling onto his face. Naminé smiled cunningly to herself, impressed by the plan the other girls came up with. Why hadn't she thought of it before? A cute girl and some flirting was any boy's one true weakness. The spiky-haired brunet cleared his throat and frowned slightly when he heard the boys behind him snickering. Over by Olette, Roxas had to stifle his own snickering with his hand.

"Y—Yeah, Kairi?" Sora said as confidently as he could.

Kairi's eyes flickered back over towards Olette. When they locked eyes, the brunette waved Kairi to go on, along with Selphie and Yuffie. The redhead returned her frail gaze to Sora and tried to remember the other tips to flirting Selphie had quickly briefed her on. She batted her eyelashes and tilted her head slightly, though she felt silly when she did so. Still, it looked like it was working judging by the red color that overtook Sora's entire face.

"Can you not count Naminé's catch as an interception?" Kairi requested with a sickeningly sweet tone of voice that was so sugarcoated, it almost made _her_ gag. "And let the girls have this one point?" She batted her eyelashes again, just in case.

Sora broke their eye contact for a moment so as to glance down at his feet. He quickly locked eyes with her again, only to see she wasn't letting up the cute act. The boy could feel his face burning, but tried to make it not so obvious. The snickering coming from behind him told Sora that the other boys were aware of his weakness. Sora cleared his throat as he brought his hand to his face, breaking their eye contact yet again. He tried to deny Kairi's request, but found it impossible when he looked back at the girl. The redhead tilted her head to the other side and folded her arms behind her back, peering upwards at him as she tilted her chin down slightly. The brunet boy inwardly groaned and admitted defeat.

"I—I guess we can let you have the point," Sora muttered, staring down at his feet in shame. "Just this once."

Kairi beamed at him, still going along with the flirting plan. "Thanks, Sora!" That was when she threw herself at him and pulled him into a friendly hug. The red color returned to his face, and Sora only started breathing again when Kairi promptly let go and released him from the embrace. She skipped back over towards Olette, still completely surprised that the brunette's plan had actually worked. Naminé sniffed victoriously as she cast a triumphant smirk down at Sora, who was still refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

"Well," the blonde girl chuckled mockingly, earning herself and irritated groan from Sora. "I guess that's that." She trotted her way towards Olette with the other girls trailing right behind her.

Hayner hurried to Sora's side, giving the brunet an astonished and somewhat disappointed look. "What the heck was that, Sora?"

Sora sighed and hung his head, greatly ashamed in himself. "I was weak."

"I don't believe it!" Kairi gasped quietly as she hurried up to Olette. "It actually worked!"

"What did I miss?" Larxene sighed aggravatingly when she finally rejoined the group. The taller blonde woman flipped a few strands of hair out of her face, a noticeable scowl settled precariously on her pale visage. Roxas looked around and realized Axel was nowhere to be found. He was most likely sprawled out on the ground, knocked unconscious. Still, Roxas wasn't about to ask Larxene what became of his godfather.

"The boys are letting us have the point!" Rikku chirped, bouncing on the heels of her feet.

"You don't say?" Larxene smirked down at Olette, clearly impressed. "And how did you convince them?"

Kairi groaned and hung her head, concealing the blush on her face with her red bangs. "Don't ask…"

"Hormones," Fuu murmured as an answer for Larxene when the blonde woman sent Kairi a baffled look.

Selphie leaned over towards Yuffie and whispered loudly into her ear, "She secretly enjoyed it."

Her statement earned her a quick glare from Kairi.

"Well, folks," Yuna chimed into the mike, so loudly in fact that it abruptly woke Paine from her deep slumber. The apathetic girl snorted as she hurriedly jerked up, only to slip out of her seat and tumble to the ground from sitting upright so quickly. "It looks like the game is back on! It would seem the boys have allowed the girls to count number zero, Naminé's, catch as an out! This means it is now the start of the ninth and final inning with the girls up to bat!"

Axel groaned loudly to himself and heaved himself up off the ground by using the fence he fainted nearby as a support for his weight. He hung over the fence, staring bleary-eyed out into the field as he tried to regain his sense. He wasn't sure exactly why it was difficult for him to breathe, but the memory was there. Vague, but it _was_ there.

"Is the game starting again…?" Axel asked himself before slumping back into a heap on the ground.

- x - x - x - x -

The boys had gathered back into their dugout before the start of the ninth inning. Sora stood alone in one section of the dugout, fuming. They were ahead by seven points, but with the way things were going, the girls were sure to quickly catch up. It didn't help much that they were going to be last to bat. That, and the fact that Olette had regained her shortstop. It seemed no matter how many bumps she came across down the road, she always seemed to overcome them by some short miracle. Sora growled to himself, glaring at the girls from across the lot. Kairi was somewhat to blame as well. Or maybe it was him. After all, he was the one who harbored a tiny, itsy bitsy crush on her. Realizing that he was also to blame, Sora hung his head. No matter how he looked at it, winning now seemed near next to impossible. The graying sky above matched perfectly with his current mood. Sora's head perked up suddenly, a desperate but effective plan spawning in his head.

Roxas watched his cousin from the other side of the dugout in disturbed curiosity. As he sat on the metallic bench, he watched his cousin switch between three moods in under a minute. First infuriated, then depressed, and lastly mischievous. The wicked smile that popped up on Sora's face was unnerving to Roxas, and only meant emanate doom for Olette. The changing weather that the blond had finally noticed didn't help out much either. He didn't want the game to have to be postponed _yet again_ due to rain. Olette wasn't going to be the happiest of the bunch if that were to happen again. Roxas decided to risk it and briskly made his way over to Sora.

"I don't like that look on your face," Roxas said when he appeared by Sora's side, earning himself his cousin's full and undivided attention. "What are you scheming?"

Sora threw his arm around Roxas' shoulder and pulled him closer, still smirking deviously. The brunet pointed upward towards the sky, directing his index finger up at a bundle of grey clouds.

"You see that?" Sora snickered. "Those grey clouds? Do you know what that means?"

Roxas hitched an eyebrow. "Rain?"

Sora waved his hand like the answer his cousin had offered was incorrect. "Nah, more like drizzle.

"You do realize that counts as rain, don't you?"

"Either way," Sora continued, directing his smirk back at Roxas. "It's still going to rain—"

"That's what I said."

"Which means," Sora went on, increasing the volume of his voice when he became irritated with Roxas' interruptions, "that there's the possibility of this game getting postponed."

"Olette won't be happy about that," Roxas sighed. He looked back up at the clouds, cursing them for literally raining on their parade.

"And knowing her," Sora sniggered, "she's not going to allow this game to be postponed again and continue playing, despite the weather."

Roxas narrowed his sapphire eyes at his brunet cousin, starting to pick up on where this conversation was going. "I still don't get what you're ranting about."

Sora snickered again and removed his arm from Roxas' shoulders. He trotted over to the end of the dugout and glowered at the girls in their own dugout. The brunet spun back around on the heels of his feet to face his blond cousin.

"This gives us the perfect opportunity to use our secret weapon, just like they did!" he laughed to himself, a sort of evil glinting in his eyes.

"What secret weapon?" Roxas crossed his arms and glared his cousin down. Though, he somewhat had an idea of what Sora was talking about.

Sora skipped back over to Roxas and leaned forward so that only the two of them could hear what he was about to quietly utter. Leaning forward with his hand cupped around his smirking mouth, Sora whispered, "Hormones!"

"Oy." Roxas rolled his eyes, at first thinking his cousin was just being an idiot. But it then soon clicked in as to what exactly Sora was talking about. "Hold on. I don't like the sound of that."

"But I do!" Riku laughed suddenly, looming over Roxas as he leaned against the blond with one arm propped up on Roxas' shoulder. The blue-eyed blond yelped in surprise, shocked at the taller boy's sudden appearance. Riku simpered down at Sora with an equal amount of mischievousness before inquiring, "What's the plan, Sora?"

Roxas backed away from the two, fully aware of what the two were capable of when they combined their diabolical minds together. Hayner casually approached his side, oblivious to Roxas' stunned horror. He watched Sora and Riku scheme together for a moment before turning to Roxas.

"I predict shirtless boys in the near future," said Hayner with a shrug of his shoulders, almost like it was nothing to worry about.

For a moment, Roxas kept his sapphire eyes glued to Riku and Sora. But when Hayner's words finally sank in, he ripped them away from the two and stared dumbfounded up at his dirty blond best friend and exclaimed, "Wait, what?"

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

- x - x - x - x -

_**A/N – I swear to the good Lord above I'm not this bad with updates! I swear… I'm not… Okay, I am a little. I apologize for not updating this in… forever, practically. I'M. SO. SORRY. My excuse is my friends took me hostage and forced me to write a Pokémon story, which I'm not even sure about posting up on here. The main reason being because people would question our sanity greatly if I did. But hey, you never know. I just might. Maybe… Anyway, I was FINALLY able to get to this now that I have gone on vacation. Sorry that this sucked, though. What happened was by the time I finally got around to writing this, I basically forgot everything I was going to do with this chapter and just winged up to the very end. SADFACE. Kairi's flirting scene was supposed to be MUCH more promising. But wasn't. Again, SADFACE. But now I can get back to the baseball game. GASP, I'm actually almost done with this story! And then I can concentrate on **__**What I Hate About You**__** and my other roxette story I'll have to post on here some time soon. Anyway, if you're still actually reading this, please let me know with a review. I hope I haven't lost any readers with my lack of updates… Next chapter, shirtless boy fan service! –insert evil laugh here–**_

–_**is shot–**_


	20. Chapter 20

"It's going to rain."

Yuffie had said it so ominously, one could have almost suspected she was predicting Armageddon rather than simple changes in the weather. Tifa stood to Yuffie's left, while Selphie stood to her right; all three girls stared past the fencing of the dugout up at the sky with their heads craned back. Their eyes lingered on the clouds that loomed overhead, slowly inching their way across the firmament until finally hanging directly above the lot. A breeze passed over the field, freezing a majority of the people for a brief second. The audience crowding the bleachers remained as noisy as ever, oblivious to the gray rain clouds above their heads. Even some of the girls inside the dugout seemed unaware of the clouds, which cast a light shadow over the field. As everyone else continued ignoring the rain clouds, the three girls clinging to the dugout's fence kept their unwavering gazes steady on the sky.

Tifa finally shook her head slightly, never once prying her eyes away from the overcast. "Nah, I don't think it'll rain. Those clouds are a _really_ light gray." Glancing briefly down at Yuffie, she added, "It'll probably just drizzle."

"Rain, drizzle, it's all the same thing," Yuffie said with a shrug, eyes still directed up towards the cloudy sky.

"I wonder what Olette will do about it?" Selphie wondered out loud as she shivered from the cool breeze.

"What I'll do about what?" Olette appeared suddenly behind the three girls, her head popping up between Selphie and Yuffie's shoulders. She followed their gazes with her own eyes, glimpsing up at the sky along with the other three. Selphie yelped and jumped at Olette's sudden appearance, while Yuffie quickly glanced down at the brunette with widened eyes. Keeping her green eyes on the gray clouds, Olette knitted her brows together slightly. Upon glancing at the clouds, she was instantly able to determine what it was the girls were talking about. "What do you think? Rain?"

Tifa shook her head again and replied, "More like drizzle. Shouldn't be too bad."

Yuffie glanced back in time to see Olette smile, which caught her by surprise. Straightening back up and pulling away from her spot between the center fielder and the second baseman, Olette now looked directly at the three girls that had been brooding about the oncoming bad weather, beaming.

"I think we can handle a little bit of drizzle," she told them, trying to summon up the confident tone of a team leader. "No need to postpone the game any more."

"Thank goodness, too," Yuffie muttered so that the girls' captain couldn't hear her.

"RAIN!" Rikku's shrill voice filled up the entire dugout and pierced through Olette's skull. The bubbly blonde rushed across the dugout and lunged through the air, latching herself onto Olette's back in the process. Olette almost stumbled forward completely, but managed to keep her balance by flailing her limbs for a moment. She glared over her shoulder at Rikku, who continued to hang from the brunette's back. Noticing Olette's irked look, the blonde girl pointed up towards the sky with one outstretched arm and stated simply, "It's going to rain."

This caused the entire team of girls to finally look up towards the sky to see what it was Rikku was going on about. They glimpsed up at the sky from wherever they stood inside the dugout, some girls frowning upon realizing why Rikku was going on about rain. Though lightly colored, the clouds certainly did mean the threat of rain. The chilly breeze that continued blowing through the lot only confirmed a downpour's approach. Each girl on the team turned to face Olette, anticipating their captain's next words. Rain also meant postponing the game, considering it had happened before. It was one of the _many_ reasons they had yet to finish the blasted baseball game. Olette straightened up unconsciously under each and every girl's gaze, suddenly feeling uncomfortable inside the cramped dugout.

Kairi was the first to ask, "With the rain, will we have to stop the game?"

Above their heads, they could hear the pitter-patter of drizzle against the dugout's metallic rooftop. The sound was light and began slowly, drumming only every so often against the rooftop. Looking past the fencing, Olette could see the outline of a gentle drizzle raining from the sky. The sound of the drizzle caused a few of the girls to groan in agitation, like the arrival of the light downpour meant the instant end of their baseball game.

"Great," Yuffie groaned, her tone filled with obvious annoyance, as she rolled her eyes and crossed her spindly arms over her chest. "_Now_ we have to postpone the game. Again!"

"Not this time," Olette interjected before any more of her teammates could begin complaining. "First off, it's not rain, it's drizzle." She saw Yuffie open her mouth to retort, but quickly held her hand up to stop the ebony-haired girl. The center fielder obediently shut her mouth and fell quiet once more. "Second off, this is the ninth inning! Do you honestly think I'd postpone the game when we're in the _ninth inning_ just because it started drizzling a little?"

"I would hope not," Larxene chuckled over the soft noise of the downpour.

Jabbing her finger in the blonde woman's direction, Olette exclaimed with a bright grin, "And you would hope correctly, Larxene! We have a game to win, girls, and we're not going to let a little rain stop us."

A relieved sigh passed over the tight group of girls before they broke out into a brief but inspired moment of cheering. The dugout was no longer filled with grim hesitance, but instead with the resilient fortitude of each and every single female standing inside the crowded space. Olette knew all to well that they were down by seven points. She could practically feel that large gap her team would have to fill in order for them to win the game they had been playing so hard. However, she knew a convincing pep talk and some motivation was enough to inspire her team to win. Even if it was drizzling, Olette was far too determined now to let anything stop her and her team from winning the game. Postponing was the last thing on her mind. And if they got sick because they ended up playing in the rain, it was something she was willing to deal with. It was something she knew with certainty the girls on her team were willing to deal with, especially if they ended up winning. The pitter-patter of the drizzle was not a bleak sign, but a sound that encouraged her to keep playing no matter what.

"Yeah, sure, the drizzle's no problem," Tifa said as she glanced off to the side, staring at something past the fence of the dugout. She then pointed towards the field, a limp gesture. "But what about that?"

Olette followed the trail of the taller girl's finger, looking back out at the field this time rather than up at the sky, and frowned upon sight. All the girls inside the dugout also took to looking at whatever it was Tifa had pointed out. Upon glancing at what the tall red-eyed brunette pointed at on the field, each girl reacted immediately to what they saw. Yuffie let out a low whistle as she leaned forward, propping herself up on Olette's left shoulder, while Selphie began a series of uncontrollable giggling and attached herself to the fence of the dugout. Most of the girls' jaws merely dropped in alarm, but Rikku also clung slowly to the fence much like Selphie had done. Rather than giggling, Rikku simply stared out at the field with her eyes widening to double their size and her jaw hanging precariously off its hinges. It was only natural, considering they were hormonal teenage girls. Though, Larxene had quickly glanced away from the field, frowning in disturbance and mumbling darkly, "Jail bait."

Ashamed for her age group, Olette promptly slapped her hand against her face as she turned away from the scene. Though, admittedly, she fought against the urge to peek through the cracks in between her fingers. Despite the slight drizzle that had started over the field both teams were playing on, the boys seemed to welcome it with open arms. While the girls remained inside the dugout, preparing themselves to go up to bat, the boys ran around in circles through the weak rain like any excited child would do. All the while waving their jerseys frantically through the air above their heads, their body language somewhat suggestive and completely questionable to Olette.

"They're…" Rikku breathed, only to pause for dramatic effect. The girls in the dugout remained quite, waiting on the blonde to finish even though they each knew the next words that were to come out of her mouth. They were all thinking the exact same words, after all. "…nekkid!"

"Not entirely naked," Naminé clarified. "But, yes, nonetheless shirtless." Olette shot her blonde best friend a confused glance when she almost certainly thought she heard Naminé purr to herself. What for, the girl did not know, nor did she care to found out what for.

As Naminé had pointed out, the boys were definitely shirtless, either completely discarding their jersey somewhere out on the field or holding onto it tightly as they waved it around while running back and forth underneath the drizzle. Every so often, some of the males would glance back at the girls' dugout, and when they figured they got one of the girl's or all the girls' glances they would then flaunt themselves like they were a sight to behold. With the way Olette's team was gawking, it was no wonder the boys thought so highly about themselves. Being athletic, or contributing to sports in any way, did have its advantages, so it would seem.

Not every single boy out on the field had stripped himself of his jersey. Roxas stood at the pitcher's mound, shirt still where it belonged. Admittedly, Olette was slightly disappointed. More so relieved than anything else, but nevertheless disappointed. This, however, she would never say aloud, not even to Naminé. Especially to Naminé. Roxas stood with his face in his glove, his head shaking in disapproval as the rest of his team continued parading themselves around without shame. He felt embarrassed, almost humiliated, just to be standing out there on the field with them. Surely, this had to be cheating. In some way, it just had to be cheating. It wasn't like they needed to cheat anyway, since the girls had a long way to go before they caught up to the boys. Even then, his diabolical cousin still wouldn't hear otherwise.

"Come on!" Sora had urged inside the dugout just minutes beforehand. He had divulged his secret plan to the rest of the team, and they seemed willing to oblige. All except Roxas. "It's sure to help us win!"

"I am not," Roxas fumed in defiance, "running around naked just so you can beat the girls at baseball."

"Everyone else is going to do it," Sora snapped just as Hayner was beginning to reluctantly pull his shirt over his head.

"And what exactly justifies your decision in having the entire team… strip?" the blond cousin demanded while crossing his arms in stubborn noncompliance. "Though, I'm afraid to ask, or even hear your answer."

"They used flirtation to win!" Sora answered. The very thought of the girls' use of flirtation and the boys' weaker resolve caused anger to rise in Sora's tone. "So why shouldn't we be able to use it?"

"Okay, first off, it's not flirtation, it's stripping!" Roxas sighed tiredly as he began listing things off on his fingers, holding his hand up in front of his cousin's face. "Second off, the girls didn't do that to win, they did that so you would stop accusing them of cheating. Third off, it's just completely stupid. Absolutely stupid."

"You know what I think it is?" Seifer snickered, one arm propped up on Sora's shoulder as he knelt down to match both of their heights, seeing as they were both shorter than him. He pointed at something across the field and simpered, "I think he's just _shy_."

Roxas didn't have to follow the trail of Seifer's finger to know that the blond center fielder pointed directly at Olette inside the girls' dugout, who seemed to be currently giving her team an inspirational speech. His face tinged slightly pink as he opened his mouth to deny any such accusation when most of the boys inside the dugout began laughing at him. His own defensive reply was drowned out by his team's laughter, so Roxas merely closed his mouth, burning red in front of the other boys. Tidus stepped forward and slapped the blond pitcher hard on the back, still cackling even as Roxas stumbled forward and grunted.

"What? Afraid you won't impress your girlfriend over there?" Tidus chortled just as the pitcher was finally straightening himself back up.

Roxas glared at not only Tidus but his entire team when they would not stop laughing at the assumption. Ignoring the heat in his face, he snapped, "That has nothing to do with it." He turned to face Sora, who was snickering loudly to himself. "Nothing to do with it! This plan is just... stupid, is all!"

Not that any of the boys listened to him. Because none of them did, the proof being Roxas' entire team gallivanting around without their jerseys on. Roxas finally pulled his face away from his catching glove, with much reluctance, and stole a glance of the girls' dugout. He almost winced upon looking, the situation not looking very good for the girls. Many of them were gawking, not exactly trying very hard to conceal their awed looks. Olette looked rather annoyed by what the boys were doing, probably fully aware of their intentions, but she also looked discouraged, most likely because she noticed the reaction of her entire team. Roxas looked away and glared over at his cousin, the brunet currently prancing around his spot on the field.

The blond pitcher knew better than the rest of them. _It's going to take a lot more than this to beat Olette._

The only one Olette could talk to was Larxene. Being older than the rest of them, naturally she paid no attention to the boys out on the field. Instead, the older blonde woman looked rather disgusted with the sight of the premature males. Pulling Larxene aside, while the rest of the girls remained clinging to the fencing, Olette hissed,

"Why the heck are the boys doing this?"

Larxene merely shrugged, the disgust gone from her face and now replaced by a nonchalant look. "Dunno. Probably to win." She gestured back towards the rest of the girls with a flick of her head. "Might work, too."

"But that's cheating!" Olette panicked, her tone going up an octave. "Why would they do that?"

"We did the same thing, didn't we?" Larxene mentioned. Olette gawked at the woman as she gestured once more towards the rest of the team, this time singling out Kairi.

She opened her mouth to retaliate, to deny any such accusation, but found no words coming out of her mouth. Slowly, Olette closed her mouth, figuring Larxene had made a point. Before, she hadn't really considered it cheating. But they had used hormones to their advantage so Naminé's catch counted as an out against the boys. This was probably Sora's payback. Olette took a moment to glare at the male shortstop on the field, running around underneath the drizzle.

"What are we gonna do?" Yuffie breathed as Olette and Larxene joined the rest of the girls once more.

"...Huh?" Selphie pried her eyes away from the field long enough to glimpse at the ebony-haired center fielder. "You say something?" In response to Selphie's inquiry, Yuffie slapped her forehead.

"They're going to beat us this way if we don't do something," Kairi groaned like all hope was lost already. The girls surrounding her looked as if all hope really was lost, these very expressions causing Olette to panic.

"We could fight fire with fire!" Rikku suggested, the only one among the girls wearing a look of determination. Filled with the very fighting spirit Olette's team needed to go on, she continued as she pumped her fist into the air, "We could take our shirts off and run around like that, too!"

"No, we _can't_," Yuffie snapped while whacking the optimistic blonde in the back of the head. She placed her hands directly on her hips and frowned at Rikku as she rubbed the now throbbing spot on the back of her head. Leaning forward, Yuffie gestured wildly at herself and said, "For obvious reasons."

Rikku pouted, her head still aching, and whined, "But we can still use hormones and stuff like them!"

"We really can't," Selphie sighed, finally looking away from the field to join the conversation. "Yuffie's right. There's a few problems with fighting back like that." They all glanced down at themselves, sulking.

Olette quickly snapped her head back up, contemplation obvious on her face. She looked back at Rikku, the blonde still pouting in disappointment, and smiled at the left fielder. Sensing Olette's gaze, Rikku looked up and blinked back at her, obviously puzzled. The other girls also looked up and glanced over at Olette when they heard her say,

"Actually, Rikku could be on to something."

Tifa's eyebrow went up skeptically. Placing a hand on her hip and tilting her head to one side, she asked, "What are you going on about, Olette?"

Olette redirected her smile from Rikku to Kairi, causing the redhead to also blink, but this time in surprise. The same trick could always be used twice, if they used it correctly. She looked away from solely Kairi and glanced back at her entire team standing before her, waiting for her to explain herself. Wearing a confident grin, Olette said, "I've got an idea, a plan that should help us out. We're going to give the boys a taste of their own medicine."

- x – x – x – x -

Of course Olette felt guilty. Roxas didn't deserve what was about to come, it was the other boys that deserved every punishment under the sun. Not her boyfriend, who was clearly innocent when compared to the rest of his team. After all, he was the only male still fully dressed, meaning he was not part of any evil scheme the boys were plotting with Sora most like as the ringleader. Nonetheless, if Olette wanted to win then Roxas would have to take one for his team. He'd understand, maybe even forgive her later. Maybe. She glanced nervously around from her spot inside the dugout as Larxene went up to bat, the oldest of the females going up to bat first because of her age. Larxene was more likely to be less distracted than any of the other girls.

From where she stood, Olette spotted a few of the other girls that had scattered themselves out around the outside of the field, now hiding behind the fence and popping up every so often to catch a glimpse of what was going on. Kairi hid behind the fence close to the left field, as close as she could get to Sora. Naminé hid herself close to the first base, looking over the fence to scan both Hayner's resolve and bare chest. Yuffie also hid with Naminé, disturbed by the blonde's sudden interest in the boys' first baseman, but could only stay hidden briefly as she was assigned third to bat. Olette looked away from her hidden teammates and focused her gaze directly on Larxene once more, praying that Naminé would do her job right. Of course her best friend would do it right! Flirting was second nature to Naminé. For Olette, not so much. Which was a problem, since she was first to instigate their plan.

Maybe it wouldn't work. The boys were definitely idiots, that much was obvious. But when it came to baseball, not much made them lose their focus. Not only that, but they had a serious advantage over the girls, as the female players themselves couldn't exactly fight back with stripping. Not with a full audience anyway. Otherwise, that sort of plan might have been more doable. Olette quickly shook her head, questioning what on earth she was thinking. Was she really that desperate to win a game? She glanced around at the players on the field, her brows now knitting together slightly as she scolded herself.

_Jeez, it's just a game, Olette._

Irritation turned to astonishment as Olette blinked in surprise at the very words she had inwardly told herself. _Just_ a game? She scolded herself once more, but her words were different from before. Now, she reminded herself how this was no simple game, but possibly _the_ biggest game she would ever play in her life. One more glance around the field had her wondering, though, if that really was the case.

Larxene now stood in front of Pence at home base, tapping the tip of the bat against the plate as she glared down at the boys' catcher. Also the only one on the male team with his jersey still on, Pence gulped and glanced out towards the field in order to avoid the older blonde's dark stare. Even upon looking away, though, Pence could still feel her glare piercing into him. Larxene held the bat up and positioned herself next to the base, finally settling her gaze onto the baseball field before her, and a relieved sigh could be heard coming from the boys' catcher. Ignoring the light drizzle that barely beat down against her, Larxene focused her narrow blue-green eyes and all her attention on Roxas.

The crowd behind the fence was still cheering, and his half-dressed teammates were still whooping. Yuna and Paine were making their usual comments, projecting them over the microphone they had with them at their announcers' table. The drizzle that had suddenly started up was just something else for the pitcher to add to the ever-growing list of distractions all around him. The lot was anything but quiet, but even the cacophony of noises swirling around in the air was not enough to make the blond lose his focus. He was a good pitcher for that reason, because he always had his eyes on the target.

No, it would take a lot more to distract Roxas when at the pitcher's mound.

The boy turned slightly to his right as he held his throwing hand in his glove, his fingers wrapped tightly around the baseball. Roxas slowly drew his arm back to prepare his throw. Off to the side, Yuna was commenting how the ninth inning was finally beginning with number fourteen on the girls' team up to bat. Still, Roxas remained focused as he kept his concentration on Larxene and the ball in his hand. His arm was drawn all the way back now, and Roxas was just about to chuck the ball forward, hopefully tricking the tall blonde at home base and causing her to swing. Suddenly, however, Roxas lost all the concentration he had when Olette whistled at him from her spot in front of the dugout.

"Woo! Go, Roxas!" His blue eyes darted to the girl as she continued cheering for him excitedly. No one else noticed the lone girl's cheer, as everyone else themselves was cheering. Roxas noticed, though. And it was making pitching a difficult task for him to accomplish. "You're the man! Show them who's the best pitcher around, sweetheart!" Having now gained Roxas' full and undivided attention, Olette winked at the boy and blew him an obvious kiss.

Confused, Roxas' eyes widened at the gesture, and without thinking completely about it his throwing arm suddenly hitched forward. He gaped at the brunet girl by the dugout for a moment before realizing the baseball had just left his hand, and turned his alarmed gaze from Olette to the ball that was flying towards Larxene. It wasn't one of his best throws; in fact, it was probably the lousiest throw Roxas had ever pitched. As if that wasn't bad enough, Larxene swung her bat forward full force and made perfect contact with the baseball. With a deafening crack, the ball went hurtling higher into the air, away from Larxene and towards the outfields of the lot. The audience's cheering went up in volume and excitement as Larxene threw the bat aside and darted towards first base. Meanwhile, Roxas stood in complete disbelief at the pitcher's mound with his jaw slack. He quickly looked back at Olette, who shot him an apologetic and innocent grin.

The baseball finally plummeted from the sky, and landed in the grass out in the right field. Rai lunged after it, having previously been running underneath the ball only to miss catching it in his glove. Hayner glanced back and forth between Larxene and his team's right fielder, demanding Rai to hurry up and pluck the ball off the ground. If the right fielder tossed the baseball in time, Hayner would be able to catch it and tag Larxene out. Finally, Rai grabbed the baseball off the ground and whirled around with his hand over his head, the boy ready to toss it. Hayner signaled Rai so that the right fielder would know to throw it at him. Positioning himself, Hayner extended his glove out in front of him and kept his foot barely on the edge of the first base, that way he would simply have to turn and reach out to tag the blonde out. The first baseman only looked away from Rai just as the boy was throwing the ball in his direction when he heard a girl's voice.

As soon as she heard Larxene hit the baseball, Naminé came out of hiding and peered over the top of the fence. Hayner was nearby, ready at first to catch the ball in order to prevent the girls from getting anyone on base. She glanced briefly at the dugout and spotted Olette, her brunette best friend looking guilty. Olette played her part, now it was time for Naminé to play hers. Larxene was running towards first, and Hayner was just about to catch the baseball Rai had thrown. If she waited any longer, he would undoubtedly tag the older blonde woman out.

"Hey, good looking!" Naminé called out as she tried to balance herself so as to not fall away from the fence. She heard Yuffie groan somewhere underneath her, but ignored it when she had gotten Hayner's full attention. Flashing him a smile, she attempted to rest her elbow on the fence and placed her head in her hand. The boy blinked, alarmed but intrigued. It was easy to flirt with someone when there was slight attraction between the two. "Do you work out? You look like you do."

Unable to resist the bait, Hayner grinned widely back in response and straightened up a bit, puffing out his chest in the process. The fact that they were in the middle of a baseball game completely disappeared from his mind. "Why, as a matter of fact, I d—"

Hayner was rudely cut off when the baseball Rai had thrown hit him lightly in the head and dropped to the dirt like dead weight. And just as the ball hit the ground, Larxene stepped onto first base and continued running past the bewildered dirty blonde boy. Cheers grew louder, along with angered yelling out on the baseball field. Hayner blinked back to reality when he heard his teammates shriek nasty insults at him and gawked around for a bit before spotting the baseball by his feet. Scooping it up quickly into his glove, Hayner straightened back up and chucked the ball towards Riku at second base. Naminé let go of the fence and dropped back to the ground. Slumping to the ground and sitting herself besides Yuffie, she turned to the ebony-haired center fielder and said in a rushed tone,

"Riku! Go!"

Nodding at the blonde, both girls slapped hands before Yuffie sprang to her feet and climbed up the fence. Her dark head popped up over the top of the fence, and she peered out onto the field. Larxene was on her way towards second, and the baseball was right behind her. Sure enough, Riku was ready and waiting at the second base for the baseball to land perfectly in his outstretched glove. Yuffie was distracted for a brief second, reluctantly admitting to herself how good several of the boys looked, before regaining focus. Olette had trusted her, so now was not the time to let her team captain down. Even if she wanted nothing more than to appreciate Riku just a _little_ bit longer.

"Hey, Riku, lookin' good!" Yuffie hollered somewhat truthfully from her spot behind the fence, waving enthusiastically at the boys' second baseman. If all of Riku's concentration had previously been on nothing but the baseball soaring right towards him, it wasn't anymore. The silver-haired boy looked up at whoever called his name, his teal eyes landing on the girl waving at him. "You're not bad when you're exposed!" Yuffie added just to further distract the boy.

It must have worked, too, because the boy suddenly grinned and lowered has glove ever so slightly. Yuffie's act had paid off, because they got the exact results they needed. Lowering his glove caused Riku to miss the baseball slightly. Instead of flying perfectly into his palm, the baseball hit the very edge of the fingers on Riku's gloves and twirled out of the air onto the ground. The sensation regained Riku's attention, and he knelt on the ground to fumble with the ball. Larxene stepped onto second base just seconds before Riku stood up with the baseball now completely in his hand. The silver-haired boy pouted at Larxene as she smirked down at the boy, stopping at second base to regain her breath. Pence called safe, and the girls either inside the dugout or hiding around the field cheered. Agitated at his own failure, Riku flung the ball back at Roxas.

"Larxene made a successful transition from the home base all the way to second base, folks!" Yuna announced into the mike, her tone turning excited. "The boys seem a little off right now! If this keeps up, the girls will easily rack up all the points they need to win!"

"What the...?" Sora stood in his own anger at his shortstop position. Just then, however, he could have sworn he caught a brief glance of Yuffie taking cover behind the fence near where Hayner stood. His brown eyebrow went up curiously, now worrying if the girls were fighting back with a plan of their own. Sora only scoffed and turned his attention back to his cousin who was preparing to pitch, figuring their plan was way more fool-proof than whatever plan the girls had concocted.

"I'm heading back to the dugout," Yuffie whispered to Naminé after making a quick cover behind the fence. For a moment, she worried as to whether or not any of the boys had spotted her, but then quickly forgot about it. "I'm almost up to bat. Keep it up, Naminé!"

With a quick nod of her platinum blonde head, Naminé merely said, "All right," and watched as Yuffie left her alone. She peeked through the cracks in the fence and glanced at Hayner, who continued standing dumbfounded at his spot at first base. Naminé giggled mischievously to herself, figuring she would still have fun even if she was left by herself.

"Hmm..." Olette turned away from the field and looked over the girls on her team. She had to make a careful decision as to who she sent out next. The brunette loved all the girls on her team, but there was no denying the fact that most of them were boy-crazy. That little fact alone was problematic enough for Olette, and hindered her teammates' abilities greatly. In order to stay ahead, she was going to have to send out someone who seemed to have no interest in the partially dressed boys out on the field. Or even someone with zero interest in people in general. Someone so dull, they had absolutely no interest in anything going on around them.

Olette's eyes landed on Fuu.

The look on the girl's face was inexpressive as usual, giving away no hint at all as to what Fuu felt. Her red eyes were stoic and focused on Olette, neither curious nor confused. Simply staring. Slowly, the corners of Olette's lips curved upward into an assured grin. The quiet silver-haired girl seemed to pay no attention to the fact that the boys were shirtless, and some were attractive as such. Fuu hadn't even commented on it like the other girls on the team had. There was no one better to send out than Fuu herself. Stepping forward, Olette placed a confident hand on the quiet girl's shoulder.

"You're up to bat, Fuu," she informed, unable to hide the confidence in her tone of voice. "Good luck!" Though, she knew very well that Fuu wouldn't need it.

Fuu gave no verbal response, as usual, but merely gave Olette a single nod before ambling calmly out of the dugout with a bat in her hand. The red-eyed third baseman slowly approached the home base as Yuffie entered the dugout. The ebony-haired girl appeared by Olette's side, the two of them peering out into the field as the game started up again. The girls around them were cheering for both the girls out on the field, as well as booing the boys, but they both remained quiet. For a moment, Yuffie studied Roxas with unwavering interest. Then, she pulled her gaze away from the blond pitcher and settled it on Olette.

"Hey," she spoke up. Olette's attention was on her now. "Is Roxas the jealous type?"

Olette could only blink in response, finding Yuffie's inquiry odd and arbitrary. She only stared at the center fielder, unable to answer the question honestly. Olette didn't really know herself, assuming Roxas might have been the jealous type only slightly. But without really knowing, she couldn't answer Yuffie's question. So instead of supplying an answer, Olette gave the girl a question of her own.

"Why do you ask?"

There was something about the way that Yuffie's expression changed that unnerved Olette. It was suggestive but hesitant, almost like Yuffie was reluctant to give her idea to Olette. She didn't gesture obviously, but simply tilted her head and glanced at something through the dugout's fencing, her eyes trailing to something out on the field. Slowly, Olette turned her head to follow the trail of Yuffie's gaze. Her expression dropped, changing rapidly from surprise to realization to horror to absolute fury, once her gaze settled on whatever it was Yuffie had pointed at on the field. Swiveling round quickly, Olette glared at Yuffie with her mouth hanging open in disgust, both the gestures and expression causing the dark-haired center fielder to flinch.

"I can't do that!" Olette hissed as her voice cracked slightly. Yuffie's expression remained the same, hesitant but implicative. Now Olette shook her head quickly, whipping her brown hair around her head. "No, no, no! I _can't_ do _that_! I can't!"

The girls' team captain began to grow fidgety an uneasy when Yuffie stared at her with no sign of letting up. Even though she was hesitant to suggest the idea, she now seemed firm on seeing Olette go through with it. Olette took a step back when she became nervous, but found she was going nowhere inside the cramped dugout. Looking away from Yuffie, Olette's gaze went automatically to Roxas warming up on the pitcher's mound. He looked cute to her, standing in the drizzle while preparing innocently to play what _should_ be a simple baseball game between friends, and not a battle of the sexes. Olette's rage turned to regret, along with her facial expression.

_Forgive me, Roxas!_

"Fine!" Olette hung her head in defeat, and Yuffie placed an apologetic hand on her captain's shoulder as she smiled sincerely for her.

Fuu was now standing at home base with her bat held up, looking nonchalant as usual. Roxas stood tall with his glove to his face as he stared Fuu down, though he knew it was pointless since there didn't seem to be much that unnerved the seemingly emotionless girl. He breathed slowly as he tried to focus himself. The last thing Roxas wanted to do was mess up like last time. Though what Olette had down last time was a low blow, he wasn't exactly complaining. While it might have caused him to mess up his throw, it was interesting to see a little bit of flirtatious behavior out of her. Almost appealing.

Roxas' face instantly heated up, and he had to quickly shake his head to regain concentration. The boy tried shoving all thoughts of the girl out, knowing fully well that they weren't going to help him improve his performance. If anything, they were going to make him completely incapable of playing baseball if he didn't stop now. He closed his eyes and breathed again, relaxing a bit now that he was concentrating on simply throwing a curve ball at the girl standing at home base. Roxas opened his eyes and was beginning to draw his arm back. However, the poor blond almost stumbled forward when he heard Olette's voice over everyone else's again.

"Hey, Sora!" shouted Olette, once again standing right in the dugout's doorway. Once the brunet shortstop glanced her way, she continued by complimenting with a wink, "Hate to admit it, but you don't look half bad!"

Roxas' jaw dropped, and the baseball in his hand almost dropped as well. The previous glare on Sora's face disappeared, only to be replaced by an intrigued smirk. It was that very look that Roxas wanted to smack off his cousin's face. Instead of doing so, however, Roxas forced himself to stay at the pitcher's mound while Sora continued looking cocky. On the inside, Olette was vigilantly fighting against the urge to gag. The simper on Sora's face drove her insane, but there was nothing she could do about it. It was all part of the plan. Yuffie had made a good point, that not only would Olette flirting with Sora mess up Roxas' pitching completely, but it would also create tension within the boys' team. And if there was no teamwork in sports, the team was doomed. Olette leaned against the frame of the metal doorway, uncrossing her arms now and placing both her hands over where her heart was supposed to be.

Feigning a look of complete disappointment, Olette rolled her green eyes to the gray sky and exclaimed dramatically, "It's too bad my boyfriend is too much of a prude!"

Sora went on smirking much too confidently, crossing his arms and glancing briefly in his cousin's direction. If it could, Roxas' jaw would have dropped again, but it was still hanging open in disbelief. Brows knitting together, Roxas snapped, "What?" and chucked the ball. Jabbing his index finger at his team's shortstop, Roxas shouted,

"You better wipe that smirk off your face, Sora!"

Instead of getting a reply from his brunet cousin, Roxas got the sound of a _crack_ and the crowd making an uproar. Quickly, the blond looked back at home base only to see no one standing there. There was just a baseball bat and cloud of dust where a batter should have been. Fuu hit the baseball dead-on, and was on her way towards the first base. Meanwhile Larxene launched herself away from the second base and dashed towards third. Roxas stood at the pitcher's mound with his jaw threatening to fall off its hinges, completely frozen in shock. He then dropped his head into his glove and groaned, unable to believe he had messed up a second time. The things your girlfriend could do to you. The boy peeked over the top of his glove and glared at the girls' dugout, Olette still standing in the doorway. Catching his stare, Olette smiled apologetically and gave him a little wave.

So she wasn't serious. It still bugged Roxas that she was pretending to flirt with _other_ boys.

Fuu did manage to hit the ball, but it was soaring straight at Hayner even as she was running towards the boy at first. This time, Hayner told himself, he would catch it. He stood firm on the base, his glove stretched out before him and prepared to catch the flying baseball easily. Sure, he was starting to get cold from the drizzle and lack of shirt, and he still had a headache from when the baseball hit him in the head, but he wasn't going to let it slip by now. Even when it was hard to concentrate with all the distractions he was suffering from. Fuu continued hurrying towards the first base, while the baseball continued whizzing threw the chilly air.

Popping back up from behind the fence, Naminé flipped her shiny blonde hair over her shoulder and asked Hayner with a dazzling smile, "Could you please do me a favor and _not_ catch the ball?" She batted her eyelashes. "Please?"

Hayner stared momentarily at the girl, his lips parted slightly in surprise. His brown eyes darted away from the blonde girl and back over at the ball that was flying at him. They darted back at Naminé and Hayner couldn't help but grin at her. "Yeah, okay." He then dropped his gloved hand, and the baseball went soaring past his head. It rolled out onto right field and Rai had to go chasing after it. Both Hayner and Naminé exchanged smiles with each other, one completely brainwashed and the other feeling a little sorry for the boy.

"Hayner, what the heck are you doing?" Sora roared as Larxene rushed past him, trying to earn the attention of the seemingly hypnotized boy over at first. "The point is to _catch_ the ball, you moron! Catch it!"

Hayner blinked and looked over towards shortstop where Sora was currently having an aneurysm. The first baseman looked away from the crazed shortstop and glanced back at the spot where Naminé had appeared behind the fence. However, when he looked back to continue talking with the girl, she was gone. Hayner scratched the back of his head confusedly, while Rai chucked the ball at Riku over on second. By the time Riku got the ball in his hand, however, it was too late. Fuu was safe on second and Larxene had already stepped over the home base, earning the girls' team a point. The girls in the dugout broke out into excited cheering as the audience applauded Larxene for her hard work.

"And number fourteen has just earned the girls another point!" Yuna exclaimed into the microphone she was trying to shield from the drizzle. "This puts the girls at twenty-two points, now only six points behind the boys."

Roxas watched from his spot as Larxene trotted victoriously into her respective dugout, only to be greeted by the girls' praises. The crowd was still cheering, but settling down a bit from the excitement. Somewhere out in the crowd, he could hear the distinct voice of Axel as his godfather whined a bit too loudly,

"Aw, how come none of the girls have stripped yet? The boys did it! Why won't the girls?"

"This is why we can't take you out into public," Xigbar sighed as he smacked the redhead as hard as he could in the back of the head.

Roxas sighed as well and hid his face in his glove, embarrassed to even know such a man. Hopefully, not too many people had heard his godfather talking. Looking up from his glove, Roxas' eyes wandered over to the girls' dugout. He was able to easily spot Olette out of all the girls crowding inside the small dugout. She greeted the blonde woman with a proud smile, high-fiving Larxene as she stepped into the ring of females. He pouted and looked away from the brunette. The boy wasn't too sure if he was supposed to be angry at her or not. Distracting him wasn't fair at all. Hitting on his cousin and insulting him was another thing. He was going against Sora's plan for _her_ sake! And what was she doing? Flirting with the very evil mastermind that had come up with the stupid plan the boys were using. A plan that didn't seem to be working very well, Roxas noted spitefully.

_She didn't mean anything by it._ Roxas nodded to himself as he tried to convince himself of this. _Olette's just trying to win, is all._

Again, he nodded. However, he ended up frowning to himself.

_But does she really think Sora is better-looking than me?_

He groaned angrily to himself and stamped the dirt on the mound, pretending it was his cousin's face. Roxas looked around the field at his stupid teammates, at his stupid cousin, then looked back over at the dugout. Automatically, his eyes landed on Olette inside, the girl laughing at something Larxene had said to her. Huffing, the boy looked away and pouted up at the gray sky. He felt just as stupid as his entire team looked. Still, it poked at him at the back of his mind, not leaving him alone and bugging him until he couldn't take it anymore. Roxas hung his head and looked down, fingering the hem of his shirt. What she was doing wasn't fair to him.

_Distracting the pitcher isn't fair at all, Olette._

"Your turn, Yuffie!" said Olette, smiling broadly at the aforementioned girl. Clamping hands together, she added, "Bring Fuu home for us!"

"Piece of cake," Yuffie laughed with a wink, pulling her hand away from Olette's as she marched confidently out of the dugout. The girls continued applauding her even as she left the dugout and headed straight for the home base.

Olette stood by the benches, feeling reassured about a possible victory and positive about her team's resolve. Granted, there seemed to be a few distractions, but for the most part each girl was keeping herself civilized. Perhaps with the exception of Selphie and maybe even Rikku. The boy-crazed second baseman ran up to Olette, taking the girl's hands in her own and peering up at her with watery olive green eyes. Olette blinked down at Selphie, her sniffling obviously fake.

"Please, Olette!" Selphie pleaded. "Let me bat!"

"I don't think I can let you do that, Selphie," Olette said, her tone apologetic.

"But why not?"

"Why do you think?" Olette's apologetic look was gone, now replaced by a stern frown and a hitched eyebrow.

Selphie's sniffling stopped immediately, and an irritated pout replaced her own facial expression. The girl straightened up, still holding onto Olette's hands. "Oh, come on! I don't even think any of them are hot!"

"You've been ogling Tidus for the past twenty minutes," Olette informed disapprovingly.

Jutting out her lower lip into another pout, Selphie quipped, "So?"

"_So_, Selphie, you're a lost cause." It was as blunt as Olette could put it.

Rather than taking it offensively, Selphie merely shrugged and flashed the team captain an amused smile. "All right, all right, point taken. But I promise I won't let myself get distracted out on the field!"

"Really?" Olette's hand was placed on her hip, her eyebrow up again as she scrutinized Selphie with an unconvinced stare.

Selphie looked away from Olette and rolled her eyes up to the dugout's ceiling, rubbing the back of her neck innocently as she mumbled, "Probably not..."

"Selphie," Olette laughed, now placing the hand that had been on her hip on the chestnut-haired girl's shoulder. "You're just a little bit more fanatical than the rest of us."

Glancing back at Olette, her own eyebrow now up in dubious examination, Selphie asked, "You're saying you're not even slightly 'fanatical'?"

Olette laughed again, causing Selphie to look even more doubtful. "Of course not."

"Uh, hey... Olette?" Tifa had joined the two now, tapping Olette on the shoulder as she kept her gaze steady on something going on out on the field. The shorter brunette looked up at Tifa upon being tapped, and the girls' catcher simply pointed towards the baseball field once gaining Olette's attention.

Olette peered past Selphie's head out towards the baseball field where Tifa had gestured to. She followed the trail of the taller girl's finger, curious to see what had caused Tifa to go speechless. Her eyes widened, however, and her jaw went completely slack upon noticing what it was Tifa was pointing out. She heard Selphie draw out an impressed gasp, and Olette couldn't blame the second baseman. Though, she wished Selphie would stop staring, and maybe stop drooling.

Olette watched, a bit more mesmerized than she would have liked to been, as Roxas stood at the pitcher's mound, the same as usual. Except now, Roxas was pulling his shirt over his head with his free ungloved hand. He shook his blond head free of the shirt, water spraying from his head. Upon stripping his shirt, Roxas balled it up into a pile of fabric and cast it aside, tossing it as far as he could to his left. It fell to the ground dejectedly, weighed down by the drizzle. Now that he no longer had his shirt to worry about, Roxas ran his fingers through his hair almost annoyingly and shook it of any excess water that might have been left behind. The blue-eyed blond then took his pitching stance once again, taking the baseball into his hand and bringing his glove to his face like he hadn't done anything unusual. Olette couldn't help but wonder, was everything she just watched _supposed_ to happen in slow motion?

Olette also couldn't help but notice that Yuffie had gawked at the boys' pitcher before quickly position herself into a batting stance. The brunette captain ignored her sudden urge to punch Yuffie and directed her gaze back at Roxas. It wasn't hard to do, since her eyes seemed to automatically glue themselves to her boyfriend. Her surprisingly well-built boyfriend. She stepped forward, unconsciously, until she made contact with the fencing of the dugout. Olette then clung to the fencing, wrapping her fingers tightly around it so that she would remain standing just in case her legs gave out from beneath her. Supporting all her weight onto the fencing, the green-eyed brunette suddenly began a series of uncharacteristic giggling, never once prying her gaze away from Roxas.

Stepping up to Olette's side, Selphie muttered darkly, "What was that about fanatical?"

"Olette? Olette!" Tifa snapped her fingers repeatedly next to the shorter brunette's ear, trying to snap the girl out of the trance she had fallen into. When the giggling wouldn't stop, worry clouded Tifa's face. "Oh, man, we lost her!"

There was suddenly no more giggling, but now Olette had begun to whine anxiously to herself, only further slumping down the fence. "My boyfriend is so hot..." she complained, still sliding further and further down.

Now that Roxas was standing out on the field like the rest of his teammates, shirtless, he couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed. And stupid. Unbelievably stupid. But that was his own fault, he had humiliated himself. It didn't help that Yuffie wouldn't stop staring, especially since he hadn't done such a ridiculous thing for her. He had done it to possibly get back at Olette, which now only made him feel worse. Roxas kept his glove to his face in hopes of hiding some of his shame, peering over the top of his glove at the wet lump in the dirt that was his shirt. He wanted nothing more than to put his shirt back on, but he would look like the biggest idiot in Twilight Town if he walked over to it right now, picked it up, and put it back on. Especially after that flashy display he had put on to gain some attention from the girls' dugout. But, oh, how he wanted to wear his shirt again, especially when he heard Axel giggling in the crowd,

"Aw, my little boy is all grown up!"

It didn't help when his godfather's poker buddies joined in and began wailing in laughter at Axel's comment. Roxas' blue eyes narrowed as he glared towards the bleachers the audience was seated in. He really wanted his shirt back.

Olette's fingers finally pulled away from the fencing, and the girl stumbled back, threatening to trip over completely and fall flat on her back. Tifa grabbed her by the right arm while Selphie took Olette's left arm to help steady the wobbly brunette. They both dragged Olette's limp body back towards the bench and slowly sat her down on its metallic surface. She slumped down into a defeated position upon sitting, and looking up at both Tifa and Selphie she whined,

"I'm doomed!"

"Don't worry, Olette!" Selphie tried encouraging. "Even though Roxas is actually now the most attractive one out there on the field, and he's pretty hot when he's not hiding it behind clothes, and he's your boyfriend so you can look at him shirtless or even stark naked whenever you wa—"

Quickly, Tifa clamped her hand over Selphie's mouth when it seemed the girl was going to go on forever, instantly shutting the chestnut-haired second baseman up. Olette looked worse than before, completely hopeless now. Glaring down at Selphie for a moment and keeping her hand tightly clamped over the girl's mouth, Tifa continued,

"What Selphie means is even though Roxas is all that and then some, you have the strongest resolve out of anyone on this team!"

Olette's eyes flickered up to meet Tifa's red eyes, unconvinced.

"You have nothing to worry about, Olette! You're going to be absolutely fine."

Still not fully convinced, Olette could only sigh, "If you say so..."

_Why is Roxas doing this?_ Olette thought about it for a moment before frowning to herself. _Maybe pretending to flirt with Sora wasn't a very good idea after all..._

With no more distractions, seeing as how Olette was incapacitated at the moment, Roxas was finally able to throw a perfect ball. Yuffie swung and missed it, glancing over at the dugout and wondering what the heck happened to Olette. It was her job to distract the pitcher, after all. But there was no distracting. Pence called a strike and tossed the ball back to Roxas. The blond got into his stance before chucking the ball again. Yuffie swung once more, and this time her bat made contact with the baseball. Once the ball went into flight, the girl hurled her bat aside and darted towards first base. Fuu also took off, leaving Riku alone at second base. Though Yuffie got a good hit on the ball, it flew low right between first and second base. Sora reached out to catch it, but it flew just centimeters past his glove. Rather than letting Wakka in the left field go after it, Sora went into pursuit after the rolling baseball as it entered the more narrow part of the left field.

Fuu had already passed Tidus at third base and Yuffie stepped onto first, but Sora still chased after the baseball. It finally came to a stop when it rolled into the fence. The excited shortstop approached the ball and scooped it up, figuring if he spun around and threw the ball fast enough, he would be able to throw it to Pence in time to tag Fuu out and prevent the girls from scoring another point. However, when Sora stood up to toss the ball, he locked eyes with Kairi as she peered over the top of the fence and smiled down at him. The boy froze momentarily, mainly from surprise, as his mouth slightly opened. Kairi's sudden appearance almost caused Sora to drop the baseball, but he managed to hold onto it.

"Um, hi, Sora," she greeted nervously, not sure what it was she was supposed to do. Kairi had already elaborated many times on the fact that she has absolutely no idea how o flirt. Olette didn't seem to hear her and sent her on distraction duty anyway. "You... look cuter without your shirt on?"

It came out sounding more like a question than a compliment, but Sora didn't seem to notice as he grinned up at the girl. Her face flushed, but mostly because she thought she sounded like an idiot. She certainly felt like one.

"You think so, Kairi?" Sora couldn't help but ask, his own expression looking suddenly excited. His go-lucky smile darkened the tint on her face.

"Hey! Sora!" somebody yelled from behind him. Sora whirled around to see Pence at home base waving his arms frantically. The gesture was useless, however, since Fuu had already stepped onto home base and earned the girls' team yet another point.

His jaw fell open again, alarmed that he had allowed himself to get distracted when he actually had the baseball in his hand. Sora spun back around to face Kairi, frowning now. However, as soon as he turned back to face her, Kairi was gone. Startled, Sora stared at the fence for a while longer before spinning on his feet and hurrying back to his shortstop position in disappointed annoyance. On the other side of the fence, Kairi was sitting in the dirt with her knees pulled up to her chest and a handful of her auburn hair in her fists. The girl was hyperventilating, finding it extremely difficult to breathe suddenly.

"I can't believe that worked!" Kairi gasped, her face still burning bright red.

Back in the dugout, Olette was still lying in a hopeless lump on the bench, proclaiming all was lost for her. Tifa and Selphie both still hovered over her, trying to help the girl regain her confidence. Nothing seemed to be working, as the slightest mention of Roxas caused the girl's misery to multiple in quantity. None of the three seemed to realize the loud cheering coming from both the crowd and the girls inside the dugout even as Fuu was sauntering back into the dugout. The quiet girl walked right up to Olette where she sat on the bench and stared down at her for a long, silent moment. Teary-eyed, Olette stopped complaining long enough to stare quizzically back at Fuu.

"Your turn," Fuu finally said, the volume of her voice so quiet it was difficult to pick it up over the roaring crowd.

"W-what?" Olette hiccuped while slowly straightening her back.

Fuu did not reply, but instead hand the team captain a baseball bat. Olette gawked at the bat in complete alarm, the horror obvious on her face.

"What? No, I can't go!" Olette cried as she tried scooting away from the girl and the bat. "All hope is lost for me!"

"No, Olette, this is perfect!" Tifa exclaimed. She snatched the bat away from Fuu and the silver-haired girl remained standing where she was, staring blankly down at Olette. Sticking the bat out towards the brunette, Tifa said, "You can go out there and prove to yourself that it'll take a lot more to defeat you than a half-naked good-looking boyfriend!"

"Oh...!" Olette slumped down again, this time almost slipping completely off the bench.

Both Selphie and Tifa grabbed the dejected girl and helped her to her feet. Tifa tried placing the bat in Olette's hand, but the brunette merely pushed it away, refusing to go out and play in the state she was in. The girls' catcher frowned as she began to grow irritated with the team's captain. Fuu stepped forward and placed her hand on Tifa's arm. When Tifa glanced down at her, Fuu held out her hand to take the bat. Tifa handed the girl the bat like she had silently requested, and Fuu approached the anxious captain. Olette looked up to meet Fuu's dull gaze, neither of them exchanging words with each other. Fuu merely stared silently at the captain, holding the bat out in front of her. After a prolonged moment of silence that felt uncomfortably odd to Selphie and Tifa, Fuu took Olette's hands and placed the baseball bat in them. She closed Olette's fingers around the bat and looked up to lock eyes with the captain again.

"Go," Fuu said, barely audible inside the dugout.

For a moment, Olette remained as silent as Fuu usually was, simply staring into the red irises of the silver-haired girl. Then, suddenly, much to the surprise of Tifa and Selphie, Olette's lips curved up into a sincere smile. The brunette laughed and clutched the bat to her chest, looking like hope was slowly returning to her. Flashing the smile at Fuu, she thanked,

"You certainly have a way with words, Fuu."

The red-eyed third baseman merely nodded once for Olette before the brunette brushed past Fuu and left the dugout, her destination the home base. Before she knew it, she found herself standing right by the home base in front of Pence, positioning herself into the proper batting stance. Holding her baseball bat up, Olette glanced around to study her surroundings. Yuffie was currently waiting at first base, stretched out as far as she could with her left leg barely on the edge of the plate. There was no one else on any of the other bases, just Yuffie. Olette looked at this positively; it made it difficult for the boys to get anyone out. Loaded bases meant someone was more likely to get tagged out. Now, in order to hit the ball, she had to look at the pitcher. Slowly, as excruciatingly slowly as she could, Olette forced her eyes to the front where Roxas would be standing.

Finally, after what seemed like all of eternity, Olette settled her narrowed gaze onto Roxas

She tried keeping her eyes focused on the baseball in his hand, but it was a lot harder than she had expected it to be. Her stomach somersaulted, and instantly she wanted to vomit all over the home base. All sound disappeared, like her eardrums had given out on her, and there was nothing but distressing silence. Her nerves were forming a tight knot in the pit of her stomach that grew more and more uncomfortable with every somersault. But Olette did everything in her willpower to ignore the knot, to ignore the somersaulting, to ignore the nausea and the nerves and the fact that the pitcher standing before her was her attractive boyfriend.

All for the sake of her team.

Miraculously enough, once Roxas let go of the ball she was able to follow it. Even more miraculous, Olette was actually able to hit the baseball. Sound immediately returned, the first sound Olette heard being the crack of her bat when it smacked against the white baseball. The vibrations traveled up the bat and into her arm as the ball made contact and went soaring high back into the rainy sky. Olette could hear the deafening cheering of the crowd once again. Yuffie darted away from first base, and Olette threw the bat aside and hurried over towards first. She could hear the girls cheering from the dugout, able to specifically make out Tifa and Selphie's voices. Naminé popped out from behind the fence, pumping her fist into the air and cheering her best friend on. Kairi was on the other side of the field, doing the same thing, cheering her lungs out.

Olette looked away from the approaching first base and glanced up towards the firmament. She spotted the baseball, still streaking across the sky, and continued watching as it soared right over Seifer in center field. Olette rushed past Hayner at first and went for second, still watching as Seifer chased the baseball with his gloved hand stretched high above his head. She watched him chase the baseball all the way up to the fence, and kept watching as the ball disappeared over the fence completely.

_A home run._

Even while running, working her legs and straining her lungs, Olette could feel herself smiling in absolute astonishment. Overwhelmed with such excitement, she couldn't help but glance in Roxas' direction to see what the boy's reaction was.

She didn't know what it was. It could have been the way Roxas was smiling in pure astoundment as he watched the baseball fly right over the fence. It could have been the way her heart suddenly fluttered just by simply catching the smile. It could have even been the way Sora angrily tossed his glove to the ground and grabbed handfuls of his spiky hair in fury. It could have been anything. Whatever the reason, Olette found herself tripping over her own two feet.

Olette never considered herself clumsy. To play sports while being clumsy was a death wish enough on its own. Sports and clumsiness didn't mix well at all for obvious reasons. So having played sports for all of her life without such problems occurring, Olette never struck herself as clumsy. A mishap here or there, maybe. But clumsy, no. Nevertheless, she still found herself tripping over her feet even as she lunged towards Riku at second base.

She was unable to stop herself due to the momentum she had been traveling at. Even sticking her arms out in front of her wouldn't have done her much good. Olette still did this just to see what would happen. The result was her flying headfirst at top speed into Riku, who had been standing innocently at his position at second base until some lunatic of a girl came flying out of nowhere at him. They both tumbled to the dirt and began rolling, Riku suffocating her under his weight. The world around Olette went into a frenzied spin as she continued ragdolling through the dirt, with no end to the brutal rolling in sight.

Yuffie had stepped onto home base, but skidded to a halt when she directed her attention to the commotion that was coming from somewhere near second base. She gasped and froze as she watched both Riku and Olette go skidding painfully through the dirt. The cheering in the dugout ceased, the cheers now turning into alarmed gasps as they watched their teammate and the boys' second baseman roll through the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust. The crowd kept cheering, unaware as to what was going on. Riku's skid had not been as harsh as Olette's, as it only lasted briefly. Olette, however, kept rolling, only coming to a complete stop when she reached the edge of the infield nearby Sora at shortstop. Riku managed to get himself up, staggering to his feet and dusting himself off. The girl remained lying motionless in the dirt, though.

"Olette!" Roxas rushed forward, leaving his spot at the pitcher's mound. Yuffie joined Roxas as she hurried away from the home base and made a run for it towards shortstop.

Naminé gasped in horror at the sight of her friend lying completely still in the dirt, and jumped over the fence with one arm. As soon as she landed on the grass, Naminé dashed at full speed towards the infield where Olette had come to a complete stop. Sora ran up to Olette and knelt down with Roxas, both soon joined by Naminé and Yuffie. The girls poured out of the dugout to see if their captain was all right, and the boys on the field formed a shapeless circle around the commotion going on.

"Olette!" Roxas scooped the girl up and turned her over to analyze the damage. Olette groaned when the boy took her into his arms, stirring only slightly awake, barely able to crack her eyes open. Naminé gasped at the sight of the brunette's leg, Olette's left leg completely cut up and bleeding from the vicious skidding, clumps of dirt clinging to the leg with the help of the blood. Olette's ankle look twisted, already swelling and bruising. Her left arm had taken some damage as well, but it was only scratched up, nothing when compared to the outcome of her leg.

"Oh my gosh, bandages!" Naminé freaked out. "We need bandages! No, a paramedic! Someone call 911!"

"I'm fine, Naminé..." Olette groaned as she turned to face the direction her best friend's voice was coming from. She tried opening her eyes, but the light only worsened her headache, so the girl kept her eyes closed. "I don't need a paramedic... it's just a scratch..."

"Just a scratch?" Roxas snapped while helping Olette sit up, keeping his arm around her shoulders to prevent her from slumping back to the ground. "Olette, you're bleeding all over the place! Your ankle is mangled!"

"Twisted, not mangled," she coughed, spitting out dirt that had gotten into her mouth. Olette blinked her eyes, trying to adjust to the light before flickering her green orbs to Roxas. "It's fine. I can still play."

Just to prove her point, Olette tried to help herself up. If she could balance herself and stand on her left leg long enough without crumpling over from the unbearable pain then none of the others could tell her otherwise. They wouldn't be able to tell her she couldn't play just because her leg was slightly injured. Especially Roxas. Everyone backed up as the stubborn girl stood up, wobbling a bit on her right leg as she kept her left leg lifted to prepare herself. Roxas held her right hand for her to help her stay balanced, watching the girl with worry vivid in his eyes. Her leg stung from all the gashes, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Olette slowly placed her left foot down and tried distributing some of her weight onto it. Doing so was a mistake.

"Gah!" Pain shot up her leg like tiny electric shocks, attacking every nerve she had in her left leg. Almost instantly, Olette fell back to the ground, Roxas waiting to catch her. She peeked open her eyes to glare at her left leg stretched before her, trying to wiggle her foot. Even trying to move her foot in the slightest pained her ankle. Olette hissed as she waited for the pain to subside, tightening her hand over Roxas' own hand.

"Oh, Olette..." Naminé's tone had been sympathetic and apologetic, never a good combination for a tone of voice. The blonde shortstop knelt down to match Olette's current pathetic height, her expression filled with worry and pity. Naminé placed her hand over Olette's free left hand, perhaps the only thing on Olette's left side that hadn't taken much damage besides her face. Looking up into Naminé's sapphire irises, Olette was finally able to make out every detail of her friend's sorry expression. "I don't think you'll be able to play for the rest of the inning."

Olette had heard a lot of terrible things in her life. But that one took the cake.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

- x - x - x - x -

_**A/N – OH MY GOD. I am SO sorry, guys, for not updating in literally a year. That sort of lack of update is just ridiculous, and I feel terrible about it. Senior year was a busy one, so I had no time to do anything fun, and that includes fan fiction. But that still doesn't excuse the fact that it took me a YEAR to write this! As if that weren't bad enough, this was actually supposed to be the last chapter. But then I realized it would be way too long if I put in everything I wanted for the end, so I had to split it up. And as if THAT weren't bad enough, I leave you guys with yet another cliffhanger! So that means you're going to have to wait yet again for me to update if you ever want to see the end of this story. I really am sorry, guys, and I'll try to update faster next time. But I won't make any promises, so don't hold your breath. Especially since you know how bad I am with updating...**_

_**Plus, college is starting soon, which means there might actually be less frequent updates! But I won't let that stop me! At least I'll try not to let it stop me. I'm almost done with this story, so who knows? I'm might actually update faster than usual. But like I said, don't hold your breath. I don't want you guys suffocating to death, after all!**_


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